Konohagakure's Unlikely Alliance
by animechick247
Summary: When Naruto's older sister returns from a mission, she finds herself in the world of Gaia. Now she must help Cloud and his friends beat Sephiroth in order for her to return home. Find out when two unlikely worlds clash together into one epic adventure.
1. Prolog

Konohagakure's Unlikely Alliance

Prolog

Twelve years ago, two nine tailed foxes suddenly appeared. It's tailed lashed out, smashing moutains and created tidal waves. A band of ninja's rose to defend their village from the attack. One great ninja was able to imprision the monsters, but died in the process. This ninja was known as the Fouth Hokage. This is the story of his living legacies.


	2. Mikomi Uzumaki

Chapter 2: Mikomi Uzumaki

HI, this is my first time doing finfiction,so please bear with me if my story isn't all that great. NO flames are allowed,please. Instead, just tell me what I can do to make it better. Reviews are a given so fell free to tell me how the story is.

A/N: This is most about the character's background, so if you're looking for the story, it'll be towards the end. Sorry.

Now I present to you: Konohagakure's Unlikely Alliance. (Bows)

Character Bio:

Name: Mikomi Uzumaki

Age: 18

Eye Color: apple green

Hair Color: Mahogony

Strength: Ninjustu, Genjustu

Weakness: Taijustu

Family: Naruto(brother), Minato(father/dead), Kushina(mother/dead), Jiraiya(godfather), Yuri(godmother)

Kekkei Genkai: Kamigan: enables to copy any justu including other Kekkei Genkai

Outfit: red tube top, black hakama pants with black shorts underneath, black high-heeled shoes(Tusnade style), Leaf Village headband around neck

Ranking: Jonin, Anbu level

Sumoning: Dogs and Frogs

Fox living in her: Usagi

Mikomi was your usual Jonin in the Hidden Leaf Village. She did the usual missions without complaint (except Anbu Missions) and performed her role as a loving older sister to her adoptive younger brother.

In case your wondering just who the heck she is, lets find out:

Back when war struck out, The Fourth Hokage found her when she only two years old. Having no idea who she was or where she came from, she was taken in by him and his wife.

After getting a name and a family, she was enrolled into the Academy to become a ninja. At the age of six, she graduated along with Kakashi Hatake to become Genin. At age seven, they both became Chunin and fought in the war.

When Kakashi became Jonin, they lost there friend Obito as well as many other friends. Life was harsh for them but that changed around when they found out that Mikomi was to have a younger brother.

Things were going well for a while, but then the nine tailed fox attacked the village and the Fourth Hokage had to seal it as well as the village guardian, Usagi, into his children. Mikoki lost her parnets that night, and she was the only one left to care for Naruto.

Now, after thirteen years, she's still caring for him and looking out for him.

Now with that out of the way, let's get back to the story.

Mikomi casually walked toward the Hokage's office. It was another tipical day in the Hidden Leaf Village. She would do a mission here, or do a mission there, or make sure that Naruto wasn't getting into any trouble. Life wasn't so glamorus for them since they were Jinchuriki,but they made the best of it with the few friends that they had. And with their Godmother, Yuri, life was full of excitement.

About Yuri:

Yuri was Jiraiya's cousin. And like him, she was famous. She wasn't one of the Sanin, but she was known for her field in medical justu. When Minato and Kushina passed away, she was the one who took care of Mikomi and Naruto when they were young.

As of now though, she has been gone for a three month mission in the Land of Grass.

Back to the story:

Mikomi opened the door to the Hogake's office. Inside, she saw the Third Hokage at his desk doing paper work. He looked up from his work when he heard her come in.

"Ah, come in".

She nodded and stepped inside, standing in front of his desk.

"Konichi wa, Hokage-sama" she greeted happily. Sarutobi smiled in return.

"I have a mission that I need you to do" . He said as he pulled out a blue scroll.

" I need you to deliver this to the Mizukage in the Land of Water".

Mikomi picked up the scroll and studied it.

"When do I have to leave?"

Sarutobi smiled slightly. "You have until tomorrow to get ready. I know how you like to spend time with Naruto before going on a mission".

Mikomi smiled brightly.

"Arigato, Hokage-sama!" She said happily.

She left the office and went to find her loving brother. Sure, they weren't related by blood, but the bond they shared was as thicker than that.

I hope it was alright. The first chapter's usually suck anyway. But don't worry, it'll get better as it goes along. Hope you guys hang in there until then.

Please send reviews! If you want this to get better then I need the reviews, otherwise it's gonna suck from here on out. (Not really).

Still, review please!


	3. Brother and Sister

Chapter 3: Brother and Sister

A/N: Now I can finally get on with the chapter. Hope everyone loves a little sibiling love.

She found Naruto at Ichiraku. That was probably the only place she could find him in this whole village. As she got closer, she saw that he was on his fifth bowl of ramen. That was small, compaired to what he usually ate.

'_That boy lives off on that stuff. Just like dad'_

"Naruto!" She called out.

Naruto whipped his head around. He smiled brightly when he saw his older sister.

"Nee-chan!"

He got off his stool and tackled her in a big hug. Mikomi laughed as she returned his hug. He was probably the only person she cared about the most. Ever since he was born, she was always by his side. She wanted to raise to be a great ninja like their father.

She sat next him and ordered herself a bowl.

"So, Naruto. How was your day?" She asked.

Naruto had a sour look on his face.

"That Sauke-teme was acting all high and mighty again! Just because he's better than me doesn't mean that he can chew me out. I am as good as he is! Even better maybe".

Mikomi ruffled his hair as she gave him a simpithetic look.

" Don't let him get to you,Naruto. He just likes making other people feel bad".

Naruto pouted.

"I know, but still.."

"Just don't worry about it. Just remember that you have some talents that he doesn't, ok?"

He continued to pout but he nodded.

" finish up your ramen. It's getting late and tomorrow is a busy day"

His face lit up when he was given another bowl. Mikomi sweatdropped as she watched him chug down his favorite soup.

After a few more bowls, they started to head home. The walk was quiet for the most part. This was the time of the day where everyone was heading home so they could get ready for tomorrow. A ninja always had to be ready for their next mission.

As they were walking, they spoted Kakashi, or rather his favorite book.

"Kakashi-Sensei"

Kakasji peered through his book to see his student and old teammate.

"Yo,Naruto,Mikomi"

A slight blush dusted over Mikomi's face. It was a well known fact that she has had a crush on him since they were kids. He didn't know about it,but it was better that way. She didn't want to risk getting her heart broken and ruining their close friendship.

Kakashi noticed the blush on her face.

"Is something the matter, Mikomi-chan?"

She quickly went beat red.

"Y-yeah. Everythings fine. Just a little warm is all"

He simply shrugged it off .

"So, I heard you have a mission tomorrow"

Naruto looked at his sister like she grew a second head. This was the first he heard this.

"You have a mission tomorrow?!"

Mikomi flinched. She was going to tell him when they got home, but looks like the cat was out of the bag.

"Yeah, I have a mission. But it's nothing serious"

Kakashi patted her shoulder.

"Either way, you be ?"

She flushed at the contact but managed to nod like an idiot. Kakashi's eye curled up to show he was smiling.

"That's good to then"

She waved as he walked away.

'Kya! Kakashi looks so cute when he's smiling!' (A/N: we can't even see his face)

She stoped being all girly when she was the sad look on Naruto's face. He always hated it when she went on missions. It always meant that he would be alone for the day or spend it worrying about her.

She ruffled his hair again.

"Don't worry,Naruto. I'll have this missions done sooner than you know it"

Naruto managed to smile a tny bit.

"But while I'm gone, I expect you to behave with your teammates"

He suddenly grew angry at that.

"Why don't you try telling that to Sasuku-teme!"

"Hey, I'm just saying that you act up too"

"I do not!"

"You do too"

"Do not"

"Do too"

"Do not"

"Do too"

The two simply bickered all the way home.

Even thoug Naruto had his own place, he tended to stay at his sister's house A.K.A their parents home. It wasn't really considered a house for the most part. It was an old boarding house that her dad used to live in before he became Hokage. He lived in it after he became the leader of the leaf village. He would always say that he din't want to live in the Hokage mansion because it was too fancy. Her mom on the other hand said it was because he would just get lost if he lived in a big house.

Naruto jumped on one of the couches that filled the living room.

"Hey ,Nee-chan. Wanna watch a movie before we go to bed?"

She simply shruged.

"Sure, why not? Yuri isn't here, so we can pig out on junk food as well".

Whenever Yuri went on a mission, that was their chance to stay up late watching movies and eating junk food out the wazoo. Yuri didn't like it, but it was a tradition that they did since day one.

They ended up watching some Comedy that was on T.V. at the moment. Naruto had a big bowl of popcorn in front of him while Mikomi was eating out of a carton of cookie dough ice cream. Naruto laughed so hard at one point that he spit out his popcorn. Mikomi would have scolded him, but she was laughing as hard as he was. They stayed up watching the whole film until it was over.

"Why don't you get ready for bed while I clean up here?" she said to him as she picked up the popcorn that he spilled. Naruto stiffled a yawn and slugishly went up the stairs.

Mikomi threw out the popcorn and empty ice cream carton before she went up to her room to change.

Her room wasn't girly or anything fancy. She simply had various scrolls hanging from her wall and had a bookshelf filled with books on different villages and jutsu's.

Going into her closet, she pulled out a white tank top that had the Konoha emblem on it and a pair of flannel bottoms. She consider these as her pajamas, even though they were a bit skimpy. After changing into them, she went into Naruto's room to say goodnight to him.

He was already in his bed when she came in. His room consisted a lot of posters of the village and different types of ramen. He even had some empty ramen containers scattered all over the place.

She kissed him lightlt on his forehead.

"I'll see you in the morning, ok?"

Naruto nodded as his eyes became heavy. He yawned and turned to his side.

"Good-night, nee-chan. Promise you'll come back safely from your mission"

He would always say that before she left for a mission. It was like some sort of charm almost.

Mikomi turned off his light's walked out of his room.

"Nee-chan"

She popped her head back in.

"I love you"

She smiled softly at him.

"I love you too, Naruto"

She went back into her room and started packing for her mission tomorrow. She packed the usual standard weapons along with a few soldeir pills and medicines form Yuri. The last thing she packed was her sword. Minato and Kushina gave it to her when she became a Jonin. It was a long samurai blade that had a fox carved into the hilt. It was a little ironic considering she had a fox spirit sleeping inside her. Still, she loved her sword very much and killed anyone who tried to touch it. She packed it carefully with her stuff and climbed into bed. She pulled put a picture from under her pillow. It was a picture of her and her parnets at the Chunin exams. She was on her dad's shoulders, holding her new Chunin vest up in the air. She smiled fondly at the picture.

"Good-night,mom. Good-night, dad"

She put the picture under her pillow and turned off the lights. She fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Being a ninja was hard work. Still,it had it's up's and downs. But the village was really lacking man-power lately. People were getting themselves killed or they quit. That just meant more work for her and Naruto to do.

'I need to find some helping hands after this mission is done'

That was the last thing she thought of before she went off to Slumber land.

A/N: I hope this chapter was better than the last. Next chapter is where we see how our friends in FF7 are doing.

And Please send in reviews. It's what keeps this story alive!


	4. We need a miracle

Chapter 4: We need a miracle

A/N: I finally got a review! That's a good start so far. Now I just need a few more and I'll be one happy chick. This chapter is focused on all your favorite Final Fantasy 7 heroes. Get ready to see everything fall in place.

When you hear 'The Planet', many things pop into your head. Sephiroth, Meteor, Jenova, Geostigma, Deepground, and of course Cloud Strife and AVALANCE. Their stories are legendary to us all. People would think that after all that has happened, the planet would be at peace. You'd think that Cloud and his friends would finally get a break from all of this chaos, but sadly, luck wasn't with them at all.

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Life in the town of Edge was in chaos as of late. Things were going peaceful after Deepground was destroyed. Six months went by and nothing was going wrong. But now that peacefulness was shattered into thousands of pieces, and the nightmares were returning again.

It all started with a rumor that Sephiroth was still alive. No one believed it, but lately they saw black feathers scattered in various places. Some thought it was a joke, but it became evident that no one would play a sick joke like this. Everyone just pushed that thought away. The thought that Sephiroth was actually back.

But what they saw next would shake the planet to its core.

Inside Shin-Ra's new science department, they caught surveillance of an intruder lurking within its hallways. You couldn't see a face. But the long silver hair that shined in the camera's light had sirens blasting in your head. They didn't take it so seriously, but when the person turned around to reveal cat green eyes, it was all too clear.

Sephiroth was real and he was back for revenge.

Shin-Ra never knew why he was at headquarters. Maybe he wanted to see if the remains of Jenova's body were still around. Or perhaps he wanted to make his presence known to everyone. Particularly Cloud.

AVALANCE was gathered at 7th Heaven. They saw the surveillance tape that Rufus Shin-Ra had sent them. Their worst nightmare had returned to haunt them. They didn't know what he was after, but it was clear that they were a part of his plans.

Cloud was seriously disturbed. You would think after killing him twice he would stay dead. But it looked like he didn't just have the cat-like features. He had the nine lives as well.

The blonde was seriously pissed off. No, he was beyond pisses, he was super pissed off that this was happening. His old enemy and nightmare was back to do as he pleased and he couldn't do anything about it.

Tifa was worried about him. Things were starting to go well for them and now this had to happen. She was upset about this as well as the others. But this was serious to Cloud. He was going back to his 'emo' self again and was taking it out on everyone.

He looked at his friends. All of them were in the same mood as he was, but showed it differently.

Cid was smoking one of his cigarettes. Barret sat in one of the booths with Marlene on his lap. Cat Sith sat on top of Red Xlll's head, who in turn, was lying on the floor. Yuffie sat on a bar stool and swung herself around. Vincent stood near the wall, hiding within the shadows. And Tifa leaned on the counter, giving Cloud a worried stare.

He was getting tired of all of all the silence.

"Has anyone thought of any ideas yet?"

They had spent the whole day trying to find ways of destroying Sephiroth. Some of them were good, but not good enough and others just sounded impossible.

When no one responded, he sighed.

"We're not making much progress"

"Well, what did you expect?" Cid asked. "Every time we defeat that S.O.B, he just comes back".

Cloud turned to Cat Sith. "Has Rufus come up with any leads?"

The little robot hung his head. "He's in much of a stump as we are"

"Don't forget that he's not the only problem we have to worry about" Vincent said. "We have those three brothers to worry about as well".

It was true. Two days after Sephiroth was spotted, the remnant brothers were spotted was well. It seemed they couldn't have one without the other.

No one really said anything as they continued to think of ideas.

After an hour or so, they were still where they were at. Nothing seemed to come up in their heads.

Cid slammed his fist on the counter. "Darn it! Nothing seems to pop into our heads!"

Cloud held the bridge of his nose. He was in a similar situation as everyone else, yet he wasn't complaining about it.

Yuffie continued spinning in her chair. You would think the motion sickness queen would be sick to her stomach by now, but apparently she was fine.

"With the way things are going, we're going to need a miracle"

Everyone just gave her a weird look.

"What? It's an option. We had one before when we defeated Sephiroth the first time"

It was true. Aertih helped them all destroy Meteor by using the Lifestream. However, they doubted if they could help them this time. Or any time for that matter.

Cloud simply looked out through the window. He gave up thinking ideas for their problem. Right now, his mind was simply pondering on his thoughts. So many rang through his head, but the loudest one screamed 'What am I going to do?'

He simply felt helpless at this point. He had no lead to defeating Sephiroth, had no idea how Sephiroth came back, had no idea why he back, and so forth. The only thing that came to mind was that they needed help and lots of it. But with the way things were, there was no chance that help would come their way.

Still, Yuffie's thought on a miracle was sounding pretty good right about now. He just hoped that whatever happened would turn out good for them.

Otherwise, he would going to lose to himself once more.

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A/N: So how was it? Good? Bad? Needs to be improved? Send me your reviews and tell me what you think. Please bear with me, I promise it will get better as it goes on. Next chapter will be where our two worlds clash together. Stay tuned until then.


	5. Strange orb

Chapter 5: Strange Orb

A/N: Here's chapter 5. Now everything shall fall into place. Please send the reviews. I need them.

This chapter is dedicated to Bakuto Masaki for reviewing and adding my story as a favorite.

Key:

"Talking"

'_Thinking_'

'Usagi talking'

'_Aerith talking'_

Mikomi jumped through the trees that filled the vast forest. She finished her mission in the Land of Waves faster than she expected. Now, she was returning home to report back

She entered the Land of Fire's border. Just a few more miles and she would be in the heart of the country.

She flipped from one of the trees and landed on the ground. She deemed it safe to travel by foot now that she was so close to home. The forest held a calming effect on her as she walked. A breeze would pass by and go through her hair. The trees shaded her from the scorching sun's evil rays. That was one of the many benefits of living in the Hidden Leaf Village.

The closer she got to the village, the more she grew tired. Going to and from the Land of Waves was no trip to the park. They were out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by water. Plus, it was expensive to rent a boat so she had to run the whole way there using the walking on water justu.

She spotted a tree that had a lot of shade. She plopped herself down and leaned into the tree. The bark felt good against her back. She breathed in the fresh crisp air that only Konoha provided. Moments like these were hard to come by when you were a ninja. You were either busy doing missions or were guarding the village from intruders. There was no time to have fun. Mikomi couldn't even chat with Usagi.

Speaking of which, now was the perfect time to do that.

Usagi was the fox demon that slept inside of her. She was original the Village's demon guardian that protected the village. But when the nine-tailed fox attacked, she got sealed up to protect the village.

Mikomi didn't mind having her around. She was nice, considering that she was a demon. She kept her out of trouble when she was in a tight situation. The total opposite from Naruto's demon. Usagi was a protective demon who wouldn't let anything happen to her master.

Mikomi closed her eyes. She pictured the fox spirit in front of her.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself standing in front of Usagi's cell. The fox grinned at her.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you, Mikomi"

The Kunoichi laughed nervously.

"Sorry, Usagi. Hokage-sama has been giving me so many missions lately that I hardly have any time to chat"

"Typical Sarutobi. He never knows when to stop"

"I know. You'd think he would give me a break or a raise for all of the hard work that I do but no, he just gives me more missions to fulfill"

"Then that must mean you're one of the bests. Sarutobi just doesn't give any high ranking missions to just any ninja. You have to be as good as him to pull them off'

"That's true. But that doesn't change the fact that I hardly have any time to be with Naruto. It's a miracle that I get to spend time with him sometimes."

"How is the little knuckle-head anyway?"

"Same as always. Getting into trouble and causing fights with Sasuke"

"That sounds about right"

Mikomi laughed at that. Her grin faltered slightly.

"Hey, Usagi?"

"What?"

"Do you think that seal will hold up on him, or will it just keep breaking?"

"What brought this up?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. I'm just a little worried that the same thing is going to happen as that mission in the Land of Waves"

She recalled when the nine-tailed fox first broke out of his seal and controlled Naruto. That was something she didn't want to see happening again anytime soon. Just the look in his eyes frightened her to the core.

Usagi mulled this over for a moment.

"It is a possibility. Nothing lasts forever, so I wouldn't be surprised"

Mikomi frowned at that.

"That wasn't the answer that I was looking for, Usagi"

"What? Were you expecting me to say 'no, the seal is fine; your brother isn't in any danger'? Face it, your father's seal is breaking and that's normal. Seals break all the time"

Mikomi looked at the ground.

"Then…does that mean the seal placed on me will break?"

"Probably. But let's hope that doesn't happen. You and I know what will happen if it does"

"Yeah"

Usagi wedged her nose from between the bars. She nudged Mikomi a tiny bit.

"Hey. Don't think about stuff like this. You should think about getting home and seeing Naruto"

She managed to smile at that.

"Yeah. I should"

She rubbed the fox's nose.

"I'll see you around, Usagi"

"Likewise, and stay out of trouble, you hear?"

"I'll try"

The scene faded away. She opened her eyes to see herself still in the forest.

She got up and dusted herself off.

"All right. Time to move out"

After walking for a few more hours, she started to grow bored. There was nothing to do in a forest except look at the trees or tap a nap in one. It was strange how such a busy village like the Leaf was could be surrounded by such a boring area as this.

Just as she was about to take another step, something caught her eye.

Something sparkled nearby the bushes to her left. Growing curious, she decided to investigate. She walked cautiously to the bush. For all she knew, it could have been a trap set for her. Making sure she wasn't in any danger, she peered into the bush to see this mysterious phenomenon.

What she found was totally unexpected. She thought she would find an old kunai knife or a headband protector, but instead she found the strangest thing.

It appeared to be an orb of some sort. Due to the texture of it, she deemed it to be made of glass. The appearance of it what strange enough, but what made it even more strange was that it gave off a greenish glow.

She thought it was a bomb of some sort, but when it didn't go off she figured it was safe to tough it.

She examined the orb carefully. She never encountered something so strange as this.

"What on earth is this?" she asked herself. "Where did this come from?"

As if to further her questions, the orb started to glow brighter. She had to shield her eyes when it become too bright to see. It started to wrap itself around her and encase her into a cocoon of light.

"What the hell is going on?"

The light vanished in an instant, taking Mikomi with it.

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Back in the world of Gaia (a.k.a the planet), Cloud rode on his bike Fenrir. He needed to empty out his mind from everything that was happening to him. With no destination in mind, he let his bike take him wherever it wanted. For some reason, it lead him to the Forgotten City.

He come here since he went to rescue Denzel and Marlene. This place just held bad memories for him. He had to leave Aerith's lifeless body in the lake and let it rest there, never to be disturbed again.

Her death was one of her most gravest sins. He promised that he would protect her and yet he managed to let Sephiroth impale her with his sword. He could never forgive himself, no matter how many times people told him it wasn't his fault.

"_But it was my fault"_ he thought. "_I let you die"_

"_You never change"_ Aerith suddenly said _"Always blaming yourself for things you didn't do"_

Cloud looked up at the sky.

"What do you expect me to do?" he said to the sky. "Just forget everything that's happened?"

"_That's right" _the Ceatra said _"How are you suppose to stop Sephiroth if you're thinking about things that already happened. You need think in the present and not in the past"_.

Cloud had to admit that she had a point. He couldn't fight Sephiroth with his mind clouded up. He had to get his act together or he was going to lose.

He got off his bike and walked over to the lake. The glowing trees that surrounded the forest caused his reflection to glow slightly. He just looked at himself, only to see it change from his face to Sepiroth's. He backed away from the lake as if it burnt him. It seemed that no matter where he went, Sephiroth would still haunt him.

He ran his hand through his spiky hair. He was becoming very desperate with this whole situation with Sephiroth and the Remnants. If he didn't act soon, then who knows what would happen.

He looked up at the night sky, hoping Aerith might listen to him.

"Tell me what I'm suppose to do" he pleaded. "Send me a sign…a hint…anything"

Just then, something flashed up in the trees. Cloud watched as a body came crashing through the trees.

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When the light faded away, Mikomi found herself in some foreign forest. She landed on a thick branch with a 'thump'. She looked around the forest of white trees. This was something she never saw before.

"Where the hell am I? And why are these trees glowing?"

She stood up, only to lose her footing and slip.

"Oh,shoot!"

Her body crashed through the branches, cutting up her arms and legs. Her arms and legs burned as they kept getting hit by branches. She tried to grab on to something to stop her fall, but she falling to fast to hold on to anything. A nearby branch got her in the head and almost made her head spin. She fell to the ground with a sharp 'thud'. Her head kept spinning as she tried to regain her focus. She saw someone rushing up to her.

"Are you o.k.?"

She couldn't make out the details so well. Her vision was going bury and her head was killing her. Before she could respond, she blacked out completely.

Cloud rushed over when he saw Mikomi hit the floor.

He stopped in his tracks when she looked up at him. Those green eyes, that brown hair; it all screamed Aerith. But it was too good to be true. Aerith was dead and she was never coming back. Plus this girl looked a lot younger than her, plus she was more built than she was. He quickly shook that aside. He needed to see if this person was alright.

"Are you o.k.?" he asked.

She looked like she was going to say something put she blacked out and went limp. The orb that she was holding slipped through her hand and rolled to his feet. He bent down to pick it up.

"A materia?"

He examined it a bit. It no lingered glow a greenish light. It simply looked lifeless and dull like it had been used up. His placed it into his pocket before he looked back at his little discovery.

From the looks of it, she was out cold and wasn't going to wake up anytime soon.

Running a hand through his hair, he let out a deep sigh.

'_Great. Now what am I going to do?' _he thought.

He could hear Aerith laughing.

"_You did say anything"._

He looked at the sky, then back at Mikomi.

"Alright. I can take a hint".

He picked her up and brought her back to his bike. After situating her so she wouldn't fall off, he started up Fenrir. He looked up at the sky once more.

"I don't know what you're planning, but I'll go with it for now".

He rode off through the forest. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Mikomi resting against his back.

He shook his head in dismay.

"Wait until Tifa sees this"

He hurried on back to Edge, hoping that Tifa wouldn't take this the wrong way.

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A/N: Now our story about to begin. Hope everyone's ready for a lot of action and comedy.

This is the longest chapter that I've written so far. Hope that trait continues .

Also here's to you viewer: I am in desperate need for comedy chapters. The ones I have are good, but I need stuff that will make people laugh for a real long time. Do that and I will give you a cookie and dedicate a chapter to you.

See you until next time.


	6. Mikomi meets AVALANCHE

Chapter 6: Mikomi meets AVALANCHE

A/N: Here's chapter 6 for ya. I want to thank Bakuto Masaki for reviewing my story, you rock! And to Sunakollx and beta657 for adding this to their favorites (sniffles) you guys are awesome! You get a cookie.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7, if I did, I would be swimming in all the money they were making (sighs sadly) I digress, here's the story.

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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Pain was the only thing Mikomi recognized when she regained conscience. Her skull throbbed painfully, causing her to have a headache.

She tried to recall the recent events that made her have this god awful headache. She remembered coming back from her mission in Kirigakure, talking with Usagi, finding that strange orb.

"_Oh yeah. I wound up in that strange forest and hit my head on one of those white trees"_

She didn't know what happened after that, so she went to see if Usagi knew.

"_Hey Usagi. You awake?"_ she asked her fox friend.

Said fox could be heard groaning as if she had a headache as well.

"Yeah, I'm up"

"_Do you know what happened back there?"_

"Not a clue. All I remember is that strange orb, a white forest, and crashing through trees"

"_Do you know where we are?"_

"No. I've been out the same time as you have"

"_You're a lot of help"_

"Well excuse me for not having control of my own body. It's not my fault that your dad sealed me up in you. He could have sealed me up in Naruto, but no, he had to stick me with you."

"_Ok, ok, I get it. God, you're such a crab when you wake up, you know that?"_

"So what if I am? Now get your lazy ass up and find out what's going on before I take over your body"

"_Alright, I'm getting up. Man you're a real brat today"_

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Her eyes fluttered open. She clutched her head as she slowly sat up. When the pain faded away, she looked at her surroundings. She found herself in somebody's bedroom and happened to be sitting on somebody's bed. From what she gathered, it had to be a kid's room since there were tons of stuffed animals and drawings on the wall.

"_Wasn't I just in a forest?"_

"Oh, good. You're awake"

Mikomi turned to see two kids by the doorway.

"_This must be their room then"_

One was a little girl with brown hair that was tied back with a pink ribbon. The other was a boy with wavy light brown hair.

They both walked to the side of the bed.

"Are you ok, miss?" the boy asked.

She gave them a weak smile.

"Yeah, my head just hurts a little. But thanks for asking."

The girl got up on the bed and sat across from her.

"I'm Marlene and that's Denzel." Marlene said. "What's your name?"

Mikomi smiled at them. They were too cute.

"I'm Mikomi. It's nice to meet you Denzel and Marlene."

Both of them smiled in return.

Denzel sat on second bed that she just realized was in the room. She figured that this was their room and that they shared it.

"I take it that this is your room?" she asked the kids.

Marlene nodded.

"Uh-huh. Cloud brought you here last night. He said you blacked out or something, so he wanted to make sure you were alright."

"Well, thank-you for letting me use your bed. I hope you didn't mind"

Marlene shook her head.

"It's alright. You were hurt anyway"

Mikomi smiled at her.

"_What a sweet-heart"_

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Tifa came into the room a few minutes later. She was surprised to see Mikomi up already. Marlene got off her bed and ran up to her.

"Tifa, she's awake"

"I can see that" she said.

She reverted her attention to Mikomi.

"How are you feeling?"

Mikomi gave her a cheesy grin.

"I'm fine. Just have a sore head"

That was good to know. She looked a lot better than what she did when Cloud brought her here.

_Flashback_

_Tifa was finishing up the last of the dishes. Today was a busy day at Seventh Heaven and there were a lot of dishes to be done. Normally, she would have been annoyed that there were so many dishes. But with the whole Sephiroth situation, this helped her take her mind off things. _

_She looked at the clock hanging on the wall. It was past midnight. Cloud left at around eight and he still wasn't back. He was on edge lately and needed to get away to clear his mind. He always seemed to leave when things went wrong. It worried her to no end._

_Putting the last of the dishes away, she went to check up on Denzel and Marlene. Both were sound asleep in their beds. She smiled at the sight. Despite everything that has happened to them, they were still good kids._

_She heard someone entering the bar downstairs. Figuring it was Cloud, she went down to greet him. What she saw next totally surprised her._

_It was Cloud alright, but he wasn't alone. He had a young girl in his arms and had blood dripping from the various cuts on her arms and legs._

"_Cloud? What happened?" _

_She went over to help him set her in one of the many booths that filled the bar._

"_I just went for a ride and I saw her just fall out of the sky" he said._

_She looked at him crazy._

"_The sky?" she said in disbelief._

_He nodded._

"_I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. She was even holding this"_

_He handed her the strange materia that he found. She looked at it strangely._

"_What kind of materia is this?" _

"_Don't know" Cloud said. "But we'll ask her once she wakes up"_

_A slight groan came from the stranger. Tifa quickly pulled out a cure materia and treated all of her wounds. The cuts disappeared like magic. She brushed the girl's hair so it wouldn't be in her face. She gasped when she got a better look at her. The cure materia fell from her hands._

"_She looks like…" she couldn't even finished her sentence she was that surprised._

"_I know. But she's not" Cloud said flatly._

_He picked her up again and headed for the stairs._

"_See if Denzel or Marlene will be willing to lend their bed tonight"_

_Tifa quickly went upstairs to the kid's rooms. She went to Marlene's bed first._

"_Marlene" she whispered._

_The little stirred. Her eyes opened lazily from sleep. Denzel woke up too from the commotion._

"_What is it, Tifa?" Marlene asked, sleep laced with her voice._

"_Cloud found someone injured and he wanted to know if he could use your bed? You could sleep in my room tonight"_

_The little girl nodded and crawled out of bed. Her usually braided hair was loose and all over the place._

_Cloud came in and placed the girl on the bed. Marlene looked at their guest._

"_She's pretty" _

_Tifa ruffled her hair._

" _Let's put you to bed now. Ok?"_

_Marlene stifled a yawn as Tifa lead her to her room._

_The martial artist took one last look at the girl before she went into her room for the night._

_End flashback_

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Now that she saw her up, she had to admit that she resembled Aerith a tiny bit. She had the same brown hair and green eyes, but that was it. She looked a lot younger than Aerith and she didn't have that gentle look on her face. She had a stubborn look and had a muscular body for her size. Her eyes shown that she had seen a lot of bad things for someone her age. It almost reminded her of a certain blonde.

Mikomi held her hand out.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced. I'm Mikomi Uzumaki"

Tifa shook her hand full-heartedly

Tifa Lockheart"

Mikomi smiled at her. She seemed nice to her.

"Thanks for letting me stay here. I hope it wasn't a problem"

"Not at all. You were hurt so we had to help you. Plus, Cloud was the one who brought you here"

As if on que, the said blonde came into the room.

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Mikomi almost felt her heart stop beating. He looked EXACTLY like her dad and Naruto. He had the same spiky blonde hair and blue eyes as they did. He even had the same light skin tone as they did. But they didn't have the same serious look as he did. It almost looked like that grim look was plastered to his face.

"_creepy"_

Cloud looked at her for a moment. Now that he saw her awake, he could tell that she looked nothing like Aerith. That was good in some way. Now wouldn't have to see the woman that he had lead to her death. But it was also sad because he would never see that gentle face again.

Mikomi didn't like the look he was giving her, so she decided to change that.

She held her hand out like she did for Tifa.

"I take it your Cloud? I'm Mikomi Uzumaki "

Cloud shook her hand, but it wasn't as heartfelt as Tifa's.

"Thanks for helping and bringing me here"

"It was nothing. I'm just curious of how you arrived here"

She laughed nervously.

"Likewise. I'm as confused as you. I have no idea where I am or how I got here"

Cloud walked out of the room. He looked over his shoulder to Mikomi and Tifa.

"Come downstairs. Some friends of mine want to know about this situation. Maybe they'll be of some help".

Tifa followed him out the door. When she saw Mikomi didn't move from the bed, she stopped.

"Don't worry. They're nice so you don't have to be afraid"

Mikomi reluctantly got up and followed her downstairs.

Denzel and Marlene walked beside her was they went down to the bar.

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She had never seen a stranger group than this. She came down to be greeted by a colorful group of people. There was an old looking man holding a spear with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. A darker man who had a metal arm and was muscular built. A man wearing a red with a gold claw who was hiding in the shadows. A young girl who looked about her age and was spinning on one of the chairs. A red dog-like creature. And a tiny stuffed animal that resembled a cat.

"_Toto, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore"_ she thought.

Tifa lead her to one of the stools. Cloud sat by the counter while Denzel took a seat next to her. Marlene ran up to her Barret and sat on his lap. Tifa sat on the other side of Mikomi.

"Why don't I introduce you to everyone?"

She pointed to each individual.

"That's Barret Wallace. He's Marlene's dad. And next to him is Cid HIghwind. The one hiding over there is Vincent Valentine. Over here, we have Yuffie Kisaragi. Then we have Red Xlll. And last, but not least, we have Cat Sith. Everyone, this is Mikomi Uzumaki."

Mikomi waved nervously to everyone. Sure, she could be tough, but she tended to be really shy to new people. It's not every day that people would want to be near a Jinchuriki. She secretly held onto the kunai knife that was sewn into her hakama pants.

Everyone looked at her carefully. They had heard from Cloud that she had suddenly appeared out of nowhere with this strange materia. She didn't look like she came from Gaia or from this planet at all. Her clothing was drastically different to what they had normally seen. Plus they had never seen such a strange headband like the one she wore around her neck. She didn't look like a real threat, but then again looks could be deceiving.

Mikomi bit her lip nervously. She didn't like the looks they were giving her. It reminded her of how everyone in the village would look at her. She didn't like it one bit.

"_But then again, I'm used to it"_

Cloud pulled out the strange materia that he found on Mikomi. He tossed it to her which she caught with ease.

"Do you know what that is?" he asked.

Mikomi studied it for a bit. It wasn't glowing like it did before. It just looked like some shinny orb.

"I don't really know. I thought it was some sort of explosive at first, with the way it was glowing and all. Why? Do you know what this is?"

Yuffie snickered. It was funny that she thought a materia was an explosive.

"It's a materia silly"

Mikomi looked at her strangely.

"Materia? What is that?"

Yuffie's eyes bugged out.

"You don't know what a materia is?! Have you been living under a rock or something?!"

Cid elbowed her in the side. The glare she received made her cower a bit.

Mikomi bowed her head shamefully.

"Gomen. I'm just so confused right now. I don't know where I am, or how I got here in the first place. I don't even know if I'm in Konoha anymore"

Tifa gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"It's nothing to worry about. Just tell us everything that happened and we'll try to explain everything as best as we can"

Mikomi smiled at her. She really liked Tifa so far.

She took a deep breath and began to tell her tale.

"Well, this all started when I was coming home from a mission. I'm a ninja a village called Konohagakure or also known as The Village Hidden in the Leaves. I was coming home from a neighboring village when I found this …materia thing. I thought it was an explosive at first since it was glowing and all. When I realized it wasn't, I started to wonder where it came from. Next thing I knew, I wound up in some strange glowing forest and then here. And now, I don't really know where I am or what this place is ".

Everyone mulled over her story. It was strange, but then again, this world was use to strange. Yuffie excited that she was talking to another ninja. She got up from her seat and grabbed her hands.

"You're a ninja?! Me too! I'm from Wutai, Village Hidden in the-er ,well, it's only called Wutai, but that's awesome that you're a ninja!"

Mikomi grew slightly afraid of her . She acted a lot like Yuri and that wasn't a good thing. She turned to Tifa to see if she could get answers from a calm person.

"Is this what this place is called? Wutai?"

Tifa giggled.

"No. Wutai is a country in Gaia. You're in a town called Edge".

Mikomi blushed at her stupid question. She felt like an idiot.

"Um, do you know exactly why I'm here or how I got here? Cause, I know for a fact that we don't have places called Wutai or Edge. Am I even in Konoha for that matter?"

"There ain't no such place called Konoha on this planet' Cid said as he blew smoke from his mouth.

"We don't have any ninja's here except for Wutai. I've never heard of a place like Konohagakure or whatever you called it. And I've never seen clothing like that before. And with that accent of yours, I take it you're not from around here "

"What are you getting at?" Cloud said.

"She's from another world" Vincent spoke for the first time.

All eyes were in the silent gunman as he said his theory.

" From what Cid's said is true. Her clothes and accent are not seen on this planet. And she said that when she picked that materia up, she suddenly found her here. Perhaps that materia brought her here from a different world. One that is not like our own".

Mikomi closed her eyes. She tried to process everything that she heard so far.

"Let me get this straight. You think that I transported to your world when I found this materia and that I'm not in my world anymore?"

"That is an assumption, but yes"

She held her head as she laughed slightly.

"Man. I either hit my head pretty hard or I'm having one crazy dream. There is no way that stuff like this can happen. It's impossible."

"Nothing is impossible in this world, sadly" Tifa said.

Mikomi suddenly looked helpless.

"You mean…I'm stuck here? "

She looked at the materia that was still in her hands.

"How am I suppose to get home?"

Tifa squeezed her arm again.

"Don't worry. We'll figure this out. In the mean time you're more than welcome to stay here"

Mikomi looked at her uncertainly.

"Are you sure? I don't to be an inconvenience to you"

"It's fine. You seem like a nice person and I'm sure Denzel and Marlene don't mind. Right you guys?"

The two children grinned at the thought of having a guest. Both nodded happily.

"Then it's settled then. You can stay here until we find out how to get you home. Ok? Now let's get you settled in."

Mikomi got up from her seat to follow Tifa. Before she did, she bowed to the others.

"I hope I don't become trouble for you all, but I hope we can get along in the future. It was nice meeting you all"

She quickly followed Tifa upstairs with Denzel and Marlene close behind.

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Once they were out of ear shot, the remainder of the group began talking.

"So, do you think we can trust her?" Barret asked.

"She seems harmless. But then again, she is a ninja, so we shouldn't be so sure yet" Cid replied as he put out his cigarette.

Yuffie bounced in her seat.

"I like her. She seems nice"

"You can never judge a book by its cover" Vincent chided her.

"I don't sense any evil intentions from her" Red Xlll said.

"I'm with him" Cat Sith agreed

Cloud ran his hand through his hair.

" I don't know what to think of her yet. But for now, we'll just watch and she how she is"

Everyone had to agree with Cloud. He had the final say in the group.

With that in mind they went to their rightful homes.

They would let things unfold from here on out.

They only thing they never realized what they just got themselves into. Or how their paths would tie in to the ninja world.

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A/N: Holy Crap that was a long chapter! I think I surprised even myself.

Hope this was to your liking, and I look forward to those reviews.

Remember, I'm still looking for funny ideas. So if you have any, lay them on me and post them up. I'll even dedicate a chapter to you.

Please send me feed back and tell me how you like it so far.

Ja ne


	7. Adjusting

Chapter 7: Adjusting

A/N: Here's the next chapter. Thanks again to Bakuto Masaki for being the only person who reviews this story. And sorry for not responding to your PM. My computer is messed up. Without further ado, let's get on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. If I did, then I would be swimming in all the money they were making.

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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She almost forgot where she was when she woke up the next morning. Last night's events played through her head over and over again. She thought it was all a dream and she would wake up back in her house. But either she was still dreaming or this was all real. Pinching herself awake, she figured it was real and that she was somehow stuck on another world.

Mikomi sat up in the bed that Tifa brought into Denzel and Marlene's room. It made the room a little cramped with three beds. Then again, it was cramped with only two beds.

Running a hand through her messy hair, she saw Denzel and Marlene wake up. Both children had the same messy bed head as she did at the moment. Marlene's usually braided hair was all over the place, and Denzel's wavy hair was sticking out in different directions.

Marlene rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She grinned when she saw that Mikomi was up.

"Good morning" she yawned. "Did you have a good night's sleep?"

The kunochi nodded with a small grin.

"Yes I did. Thank you for letting me use you room for the night"

"You're welcome"

Both children crawled out of their beds and got on hers. She had to admit, they were pretty cute. The way they looked at her in amazement was adorable. She could tell that they were just as surprised as she was with this whole situation.

"So…you're really from a different world?" Denzel asked.

Mikomi merely shrugged.

"That's what everyone is saying. So I suppose"

"And you're a ninja? Like Yuffie?" Marlene added.

"Well, I don't if I'm like her. But I am one"

She pulled off her headband that was tied around her neck. Normally, you were to take it off when it was time for bed. But for her, it acted like a security blanket. Plus, it hid the scar that ran across her neck.

She handed them her headband to look at it.

"This means that I'm a qualified ninja in my village. You're not a real ninja until you earned one of these. The symbol on it means that I'm from the Village Hidden in the Leaves. That's why it looks like a leaf"

Denzel fumbled around with it. He tried to tie it around his neck like Mikomi did.

"Are you suppose to wear it like this?"

She giggled a bit.

"Yeah, but most people like to wear it on their forehead, like this"

She tied on his forehead like Naruto would wear his. It looked good on him, until it slipped and covered his eyes. They all laughed at the silly incident that is until their stomachs grumbled in hunger. They all blushed in embarrassment.

"I guess we should go downstairs and eat"

The two children nodded as they all got off the bed. They held her hand as they went downstairs for breakfast.

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Tifa had breakfast preparing when they came down. They smell of bacon and pancakes hit them like a ton of bricks. The martial artist smiled as she saw her guest up.

"Good morning. I take it you slept well?"

Mikomi nodded

"Yes. And thank you again for letting me stay here until I get everything straighten out"

Tifa just waved her off.

"It's not a problem. It's not every day that we get a guest, especially one from another world. So I'm really looking forward to this"

Mikomi couldn't help the smile that was on her face. She had to be the first person who was actually nice to her and didn't take this whole situation to be strange.

Marlene pulled her to the dining area.

"You can sit by me" She said.

She led her into the dining room, where she found Cloud, Barret, Yuffie and Cid at the table.

They all looked at her when she entered the room. She smiled at them nervously. She didn't like the looks they were giving her, or rather, the guys were giving her. Yuffie jumped out of her seat and went up to her.

"Good morning, ninja buddy"

She gave her a big bear hug.

"So, how do you like our world so far?"

Mikomi had to let Yuffie let go. Her hugs were hard and were making her ribs sore.

"It's great so far. I haven't really seen it all, but I like what I've seen"

The Wutai liked her answer. She pulled her over to the table so that she sat by her. Marlene sat on her other side so that she sat by Barret as well.

Mikomi nervously looked at the former leader of AVALANCHE. He looked like a real tough guy that could beat anybody up. She had seen a lot of tough guys as a ninja. But not ones who had a metal arm that could turn into a giant blasting gun.

Yet, he managed to give her a small grin. She seemed like a nice girl to him, and Marlene seemed to like her. As long as she didn't do anything that would harm his daughter, he was ok with her.

Cid studied her from across the table. He didn't know what to make of her yet. She seemed to be nice, but she could be acting it for all they knew. Still, she didn't look like someone who had anything up her sleeve. He decided he would keep an eye on her for the mean time. Someone had to look out for the group and Cloud wasn't going to be doing it.

The said blonde was trying to avoid eye contact with her. He wasn't trying to be mean or anything. He just couldn't bring himself to look at her. He knew that she looked nothing like Aerith at all. But when he saw the brown hair and the green eyes, he just saw his friend being stabbed by Sephiroth. He didn't know why he brought her here, but something told him that it was the right thing. He didn't know why she came to this world. But if she did, it had to be very important. Otherwise, she wouldn't be here and Aerith wouldn't have told him to help her. He didn't know what to do about this whole situation, but he couldn't just leave his friends to take care of this. He would just have to suck in his broken pride and help the poor girl, no matter how much she reminded him of his friend.

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Tifa came into the room with a huge plate filled with pancakes and bacon. She frowned a little at the scene before her. Mikomi was nervously looking at her plate so she wouldn't avoid the stares everyone was giving her. Barret and Yuffie weren't so bad, but the two blondes were either not looking at her or giving her a quizzical look. She didn't think they were making a good first impression on their guest.

"Alright guys. Breakfast is ready"

She struggled with the plates filled with food. Mikomi got up from her seat and took one of the plates from her.

"Here Let me help"

Tifa smiled at her.

"Well, aren't you sweet?"

She rounded at the others.

"Why can't you be more helpful like our guest? You don't get seconds because of that"

"Keep your pants on" Cid barked "It's just breakfast"

"Just for that, you don't get a full serving" Tifa glared.

Cid muttered a few curses but let her give him just one pancake.

Tifa gave everybody else two pancakes and gave Mikomi a third one.

"You can have as much as you like since you're our guest" she said.

Mikomi just blushed but thanked her. She reminded her of her mom in some way.

The food turned out to be really good. The pancakes were nice and fluffy and the bacon was extra crispy. Cid's stomach still growled even after eating his one pancake. Yuffie snickered at him.

"That's what you get for back talking to Tifa"

The pilot just glared at her.

"Shut up, you little brat"

Yuffie just ignored him and went back to eating her food. She tried to make a big deal out of it just so she could annoy him. It seemed to work since he kept glaring at her.

Mikomi felt bad for him. He really didn't do anything wrong. She was just trying to be nice to Tifa since she was letting her stay here.

"_I feel like this is all my fault"_ she thought.

"Don't be" Usagi told her. "A man should know better to talk back to a lady. Especially when she's giving him food. Now stop your worrying and feed me that bacon. The only time I ever eat is when you eat. And right now I'm starving, so hand over the bacon".

She mentally sighed but ate so her inner demon would shut-up. She could be really annoying sometimes.

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Cid's stomach still grumbled as everyone was getting seconds. Tifa could be a real bitch at times, and it was understandable. But this was uncalled for. He mentally swore at her when she went into the kitchen to get seconds. He was a grown man, who shouldn't be deprived of food. He just stared at his blank plate, wishing there was food on it. Just then, a pancake landed on his plate.

"What the?"

He looked up to see Mikomi giving him a second pancake. She pressed a finger to her lips.

"Eat them before she comes back" she whispered.

He could hear Tifa's footsteps coming closer. He quickly shoved the pancakes into his mouth and swallowed them just as she entered.

"Who's ready for seconds?"

She looked at Mikomi's plate to see it was empty.

"Wow. You must have been hungry. Well, hope you're ready for seconds"

Mikomi smiled at her before winking to Cid.

The pilot looked at her. He guessed that she wasn't so bad after all. But that didn't mean that he wasn't going to keep an eye on her still. But he would ease up on her.

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After breakfast was done. Mikomi helped Tifa with the dishes. She thought it was fair since she feed her and all. Tifa was glad for the help. She had taken a liking to her, even though she had only been here for one day. Still, it was hard find nice people like her nowadays.

Mikomi dried off the dishes and put them away.

"Thank you for the meal, Tifa-san"

Tifa smiled at her.

"You're welcome, and just call me Tifa. You don't have to be so formal"

She smiled shyly.

Denzel and Marlene came into the kitchen.

"Tifa, can we go out and play?" Marlene asked

"I don't see why not. Just be careful, ok?"

"We will"

She pulled Mikomi's hand.

"Wanna play with us?"

She looked at the girl then back at Tifa to see if it was alright. The martial artist smiled and nodded.

"Um...Ok"

The little girl pulled her out to the front of the bar. Tifa laughed at the helpless look that Mikomi had on her face as she was being dragged.

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Denzel was playing soccer with Yuffie, while Mikomi did jump rope with Marlene. Barret kept an eye on them while he sat by the front steps. This made Mikomi a little nervous. Marlene seemed to notice this.

"Don't worry. My daddy is really nice."

She went up to him and gave him a big hug.

"He's like a giant teddy bear"

Barret ruffled her hair before motioning for Mikomi to come over.

"I won't bite ya, kid"

She slowly walked up to him.

"Sorry. I just thought you didn't like me or something"

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Barret just laughed and patted her on the shoulder, to which her legs almost buckled.

"Don't be thinking like that. I just want to make sure Marlene will be safe"

"I have no intentions of hurting her" she said quickly.

"That's good to hear. I don't want anything to happen to my Marlene"

Mikomi bowed to him.

"You have my word as Konoha ninja that I won't let anything happen to her"

Barret patted her on the head.

"You better keep to it"

She smiled up at him. He didn't seem that bad after all.

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Cloud came out a few minutes late with a package in hand.

"Have another delivery to do?" Barret asked.

The blonde simply nodded as he strapped the package to his motorcycle.

"I'll be back later"

"Bye, Cloud" Marlene said.

Cloud looked at her and said good-bye to her. He looked at Mikomi for a moment. The look he had was so emotionless that it made her skin crawl. He quickly got on his bike and rode off to who knows where.

She sighed sadly when he was gone.

"I don't think Cloud likes me very much" she said sadly.

"Don't let it bother you" Cid said as he took a seat on the steps.

"He's just got a lot on his mind right now that he has to deal with. Plus, he's not use to meeting new people. Just give him a few days and he'll warm up to you"

"I hope so" she said softly.

"Aw man!"

Everyone turned around to see Denzel and Yuffie complaining about something.

"What's going on?" Cid said as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

"It's our soccer ball" Denzel complained.

"I accidently kick it too high" Yuffie said sheepishly. She pointed it to the building that was next to the bar. Sure enough, the ball could be seen on the roof.

"Nice going, Yuffie" Cid said as he blew smoke.

Yuffie put her hands on her hips.

"I didn't do it on purpose! It's not like I intended to kick it that high, it was an accident!"

She looked up at the ball.

"I don't know how we're going to get it down though"

Mikomi walked up to them.

"I'll get it" she said plainly.

"How? The only way to get up there is to climb up"

"I'll jump then"

"Huh?"

She sent chakra to her feet and jumped into the air. She went higher than the building, so she flipped through the air until she landed on the roof.

Picking up the ball, she flipped off and landed gracefully to the ground.

Everyone looked at her wide eyed. Cid's cigarette fell out of his mouth.

She handed Denzel back his ball. He looked at her, to his ball to back at her again.

"Cool!" he exclaimed

"How the heck did you do that?" Cid said

She just shrugged.

" I just did a little chakra jump. That's all"

"catra-wa?" Yuffie asked.

"Chakra " Mikomi repeated.

"It's a natural essence that exists within our bodies. Ninja use it to perform various techniques to complete missions"

"What exactly can you do with this so called chakra?" Cid asked as he stuck another cigarette in his mouth.

"Anything, really"

She summoned up her chakra so that it covered her body. Everyone watched as the blue essence surrounded her body completely before fading within her body.

Mikomi went up to a wall and started walking it up.

"I can walk on walls"

She walked until she reached underneath the porch.

"On ceilings"

She jumped off and went into the street. She performed some handsigns.

"I can breathe fire"

She performed the Fire Ball Jutsu and spewed fire from her mouth.

"Or make two of me"

She performed the Shadow Clone Jutsu.

"I can change my appearance"

She changed into Yuffie with the Transformation Jutsu.

"I can do just about anything as long as I have chakra"

She reverted back to herself and looked at the others. She sweatdroped when they were all giving her weird looks.

"I take it this world doesn't use chakra?"

"We've never even heard of it. And we've never seen tricks like that either" Cid said.

She laughed nervously.

"I guess I stick out then, huh?"

Denzel quickly got in her face.

"Do something else!" He bounced on his feet.

She saw Marlene was pretty much doing the same thing.

"Alright then"

She bit her thumb until blood came out. She smeared it on her hand and did some handsigns

"Summoning Jutsu!"

She slammed her hand on the ground and white smoke erupted. When it disappeared, there was a bunch of dog in its place.

The two children started playing with the dogs.

"Cloud found one strange chick" Cid said

"Yeah, but she's cool!" Yuffie fired back.

They all simply watched as Mikomi performed more jutsus for the children. It was almost like watching a magic show in a way. The way she could breathe fire and make two of herself

This was something they had never seen before. It was all new to them. But if she came from a different world then of course she would be different. They guess they would just have to adjust to all of this just like she would have to adjust to all of them. This was going to be strange for all of them.

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A/N: another chapter done. And another long one. I hope everyone is enjoying this story as much as I am. Although, Cloud could be a little more sociable to Mikomi. But then again, he has a lot on his mind, so it's going to take some time.

Remember to send in those lovely reviews, you know you want to.

Until next time,

Ja ne


	8. I'm not her,Ok?

Chapter 8: I'm not her, ok?

A/N: once again, I post another chapter. I'm sure by reading the title that you can guess what this is about. Hope it's to your liking that you'll want to review it. (That's right. I'm talking about you readers who haven't reviewed yet besides Bakuto Masaki, at least someone is willing send them in!). Sorry, blacked out for a moment. Now on with the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7 still. (Cries)

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

"_Aerith talking"_

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It was a week later, and Mikomi still found herself in the world of Gaia. It wasn't so bad since she had AVALANCE. They were nice to her and even explained about their world to her. She didn't understand most of it. But she did get the Lifestream, Materia, and Shin-Ra down pat. She still had a little trouble, but they were patient and explained it to her some more so that she could understand.

She even explained a few things from her world to them, like the Hokage's and the different rankings of ninja. She showed them how to throw kunai knives, and to channel chakra through their bodies. Some of them had a little trouble with the channeling, but it was pretty cool once they got the hang of it. She thought about teaching them some jutsus, but Usagi told her not to push it.

It was fun being able to learn new things. She was able to see and experience things that no one back in Konoha would do. She had a rare opportunity to actually be normal and not have to worry about being a Jinchuriki or having to worry about people talking behind her back. It was great.

Although, she did worry constantly that they would find out about Usagi. She wasn't ashamed of her; she just didn't want to be looked as a monster by these people that she started to consider as her friends. Still, there was a tiny part in her that just wanted to spill out her secret. She would stomp it out and reminded herself that she didn't need any more negative attention. She savored the positive attention that everyone was giving her. Well…mostly everyone. Cloud was still being distant towards her.

She didn't know why he didn't like her. She didn't do anything to him. She hardly talked to him since she got here. So what was the big deal? He would always look at her for a moment then look away with this look on his face s if he bit into something bitter. It kind of hurt her that he would always look at her that way, but she thought it would be best not to push him. He always seemed to be on edge and ready to hack into something with that huge sword of his. Still, it couldn't hurt to find out what it was that made him avoid her.

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Tifa had the bar closed for the day. It was that time of the week that she had everyone form AVALANCHE come over for dinner. Plus, she thought this would be a great opportunity for Mikomi to get to know everyone better. She was already close with Yuffie, Cid, Barret, and herself. But since Vincent, Red Xlll, and Cat Sith weren't always around, this was the perfect time.

She quickly glanced at Cloud. She had to admit that she was hoping that he would start to be a little more sociable towards Mikomi. But she guessed that he was still getting over the fact the she resembled Aerith. She thought it was sad really. He was starting to forgive himself for what happened to her but then he found someone who looked just liked her. She thought that it wasn't fair to Mikomi. She was trying real hard to be friends with him and he would just avoid her. She would always look sad as he would walk away from her. She loved the man, but she just couldn't tolerate this.

She walked over to him and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked at her with that same emotionless expression he was known for. She didn't let that phase her.

"You and I need to talk"

She motioned for him to follow her in the back. He grudgingly did so much to his dismay. Tifa quickly rounded on him when they were safely in the back.

"What is your problem?" she scolded him. She placed her hands on her hips, something she did when she was angry over something.

"You have been avoiding Mikomi since she got here. You won't look at her, you won't talk to her. What gives?"

Cloud didn't look at her. He just looked at the floor with that painful look in his eyes.

"I just...when I look at her…I just see my sins" he said quietly. "I see the ones I couldn't protect…I see the weak individual that I am…I just see all of the mistakes I've made in the past"

Tifa sighed sadly. She should have known he would be like this. He simply couldn't forgive himself for letting not only Aerith die, but Zack as well.

"I thought you were able to get over all of this?"

He finally looked at her. The mako made his eyes standout.

"How can I get over the death of my friends? They're dead and they won't be coming back. And to make it even worse is I was the cause of it"

Tifa sighed. She ran a hand through her hair.

"Ok, ok, I get it. But you can't be like this. Aerith would want you to be happy. She wouldn't want to see you all depressed and moody like this just because you found a girl who looks like her"

"_She's right, Cloud" _Aerith chided him. _"You shouldn't be avoiding someone because she looks like me. I never blamed you for what happened to me. I'm happy now, as should you"_

Cloud frowned as he got lectured by not only Tifa, but by Aerith as well. Everyone was gaining up on him just because he wouldn't look at their guest? It was his choice if he wanted to or not. He shouldn't be forced to look at someone just because others said it would be nice.

"_But then again, she didn't do anything wrong to deserve the cold shoulder" _he thought.

He sighed. He knew Tifa was right. He should have been nicer to Mikomi. She was just trying to be friends with him and get on even terms.

"Alright. I'll try to be a little more sociable with her. But don't expect me be friendly with her like everyone else"

Tifa gave him a small smile.

"That's all that I want" she said softly. She placed her hand on his shoulder. "You'll see that she's a really nice person. Just give her a chance"

Cloud just walked back to the front of the bar.

"I'll try" he said over his shoulder.

Tifa followed him. She just hoped that this was the right thing for him to do. She didn't want to see him like this.

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Mikomi frowned when she saw Cloud and Tifa head for the back. She was showing AVALANCE some pictures of Naruto and her parents when she saw them leave. She just didn't understood why this was such a big deal. She wasn't ugly or anything, so why was Cloud avoiding her?

"Don't take it personal" Vincent suddenly said.

She jumped a little when she peered to see him behind her. He had a tendency to suddenly appear out of thin air it seemed.

"And you call yourself a ninja" Usagi chided her. "You're suppose to be alert to your surroundings and you don't even notice someone behind you. You put your father to shame" 

A tick mark appeared on the back of her head.

"_Keep that up and you won't eat anything. I'll skip dinner so you can starve"_

"You brat! You can't do that to me! After everything I do to put up with you and your brother"

"_Hey, it's my body. I can do as I please"_

"Brat"

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Mikomi looked at the picture she held in her hand. It was when she just passed the chunin exams and got her vest. Her mom and dad were in the photo as well as Kakashi. Her godparents; Jiraiya and Yuri were present there too.

Yuri was Jiraiya's younger cousin. They grew up together like brother and sister. She looked exactly like him with the white hair and markings under her eyes. The only difference was that her marking were blue and they went under eyelids and down her face. And she had blue eyes rather than black.

Yuffie peered over her shoulder.

"Oh, are those you're parents?"

She smiled sadly.

"Yeah, this is when I passed the exams and was promoted Chunin"

She placed the photo on the table. Even though she enjoyed seeing her parent's faces, it still pained her to look at them. They weren't the real thing so it just didn't seem right to look at their faces.

Marlene pointed to the picture of her dad.

"Is that your dad?"

She nodded.

"It was, but he's not here anymore"

"Did he die?"

"Yeah, my mom did too. There was an accident in our village and they caught up in it"

Marlene went up to her and hugged her. She smiled at the little girl's affection.

Yuffie looked at the picture more closely.

"Hey! You're dad looks a lot like Cloud!"

Cid looked at it as well.

"He does look like him. He doesn't look like he has a stick up his ass, but he looks like him"

Mikomi had to agree. He did look just like him. Even though he avoided her, she could still see the resemblance whenever she got the chance to look at him.

"_But he isn't him"_ She thought. _"Dad was dad and Cloud was Cloud. No one could ever replace them. They're simply as different as night and day"_

Yuffie sighed.

"This is all too weird" she said. "Cloud looks like your dad and you look like Aerith. What are the odds of that?"

Mikomi grew confused.

"Who?"

Cid elbowed Yuffie in the ribs.

"No one. Just a friend of ours"

Yuffie rubbed her ribs.

"How can you say that about Aerith? She wasn't a no one"

Mikomi was confused. Why was everyone acting so weird over some person?

"Was this Aerith your friend or something?" She said carefully. She didn't want them chewing her head off or anything.

Everyone stopped bickering and looked at her. They all held a sad look on their faces.

"Yeah, she was" Cid said as he lit his cigarette. (A/N: he likes to smoke a lot doesn't he?)

"She died trying to save the planet" Yuffie said quietly. "Cloud tried to save her, but he was too late"

"She meant a lot to us all" Barret said.

Vincent simply said nothing.

Mikomi suddenly felt guilty. Here she was, trying to be friends with them when she looked just like there dead friend. It was no wonder why Cloud wouldn't look at her.

"I'm so sorry" she bowed deeply to them.

"What the hell do you have to be sorry for?" Cid asked.

She looked at them shamefully.

"I was trying to be friends with you and yet I remind you of your dead friend. I didn't mean to. I didn't know I looked like her. I'm sorry if I-".

Cid covered her mouth up.

"There's no need to apologize. We just said that you looked like her"

He removed his hand from her mouth. That was a bad move, since she kept talking again.

"But…aren't you afraid that I might take her place? That isn't my intention at all though! But I must bring back horrible memories if I look like her! I'm sorry if I do! I'm not trying to cause any trouble! I don't want to-"

Cid covered her mouth again.

"God, you're a chatter box. You're not taking anybodies place, so relax"

Yuffie jumped into the booth she was sitting in.

"Don't worry, Mikomi-chan. You just have the same hair and eye color as her. Other than that, you look nothing like her, so there's nothing to worry about"

Cid removed his hand again when he felt she wouldn't be talking a mile a minute.

She just looked at the table shyly.

"So…you're not you don't mind that I'm around you all and stuff?"

Barret ruffled her hair.

"Not at all kid. You're fun to hang out with"

Yuffie pulled her into a bone crushing hug.

"Yeah. Plus, I have ninja buddy!"

Mikomi smiled a little at them, it soon faltered when Cloud and Tifa came back.

"But Cloud…"

"Don't you worry about him? He'll get over it eventually" Cid said.

Mikomi didn't know when eventually would be, but she hoped it would be soon.

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Tifa herded everyone to the dining room for dinner. She looked at Cloud as he went to head for his seat. He had better keep his promise to be more sociable towards Mikomi, or there would be hell to pay.

He wasn't really paying attention to where he was going and ended up bumping into someone. He went to apologize when his breath caught in his throat.

Mikomi looked up at him. She gave him an apologetic smile.

"Sorry. I wasn't paying attention"

Her face suddenly turned to Aerith's. That grin she would always wear was present. The image suddenly turned into her having a sword going through her torso to her being dropped into the lake. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Excuse me" he brushed passed her to go out in the back.

"Cloud" Tifa called, but he was already gone. She sighed deeply. "I can't believe him"

Mikomi sadly looked at the spot where he left.

"_I should feel bad, but …I know how he feels"_

"It hurts seeing someone that looks like a dead comrade, doesn't it?"

"_Yeah. And I feel bad for him. I look like his friend that he tried to protect. This must really suck for him"_

"It might be"

She looked at the ground for a moment.

"_I can't leave this the way it is .I need to talk to him and straighten things out"_

"Good luck with that. And if it doesn't work, I can always talk to him"

"_Thanks for the offer, but I think I can handle it"_

She looked at Tifa for a second.

"I'll be back in a sec."

She walked out to the back to where she would find Cloud.

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The blonde silently swore at himself. After he had promised to both Tifa and Aerith that he wouldn't avoid Mikomi, he did it anyway. He felt guilty that he walked out like that, but it was just too much for him.

"_She didn't deserve that, you know" _Aerith scolded him.

"I know" He said. "It's just that…it's hard to look at her without being remembered for my past sins"

He could hear Aerith sighing.

"_I thought we went over that. It's not your fault for what happened to me. I knew what was going to happen and I accepted it. I'm happy where I am now, as should you. It's not right to dwell in the past like this. You need to move on and live a happy life. Could you at least do that for me at least?"_

He didn't know what to say to her, so he didn't respond. He turned around when he heard someone come out. He expected it to be Tifa, ready to chew his ass out. But instead it was Mikomi.

He was surprised to see her, after walking out on her like that.

Mikomi held the hem of her hakama pants. She was slightly nervous about what she was going to say. She didn't know if he would listen to her or just walk away. She had in the shadows so that it would be easier for him.

"Um... is it ok if I talk to you for a moment?" she asked nervously.

He thought about saying no, but he knew that would be unfair. She didn't do anything wrong.

When he nodded she carefully said what she had in mind.

"You're friends told me about Aerith" She said softly. She didn't see him flinch at the mention of her name.

She swiftly went into a deep bow.

"I'm so sorry for what happened to her and that I remind you of her. I had no idea what so ever that I was causing you so much torment"

"It's not your fault" Cloud said. "I guess…I was thinking about the past rather than the present. I know Aerith's gone, but…when I see someone that looks like her… I just feel…"

"Like it isn't fair? That it isn't right that there's someone out there who looks like the one sacrificed their life for you?"

Cloud looked at her speechless.

"How did you…?"

She forced a smile on her face.

"Because I feel the same way when I look at you"

She handed him a picture of her dad.

"When I was six years old, my dad died. He was trying to protect the village from being attacked and ended up losing his life. Sure he was doing his duty as Hokage and as a Leaf shinobi, but I felt that it was all my fault that he died. He was trying to protect me, even though I was able to defend myself. It was a stab to my pride as a ninja and as a daughter. I had to live with that guilt daily"

She stepped out of the shadows so that he could look at her. He could see that she was trying real hard not to cry.

"When I first met you…I thought you were my dad for a moment. I knew it was silly, he was dead and he would never come back. But I still saw him whenever I saw you"

She bowed her head to where her hair covered her face.

"I guess we were being unfair to each other. I kept seeing my dad when I looked at you and you kept seeing your friend when you looked at me"

She gave him a weak smile.

"I guess what I'm trying to say is…I'm sorry for all the pain that I caused you and for seeing you as someone else. I hope you can forgive me. Just know that I'm not trying to replace Aerith or try to be like her…I just hope you can see me as for who I am and not someone else"

She turned around to go back inside.

"Wait"

She looked over her shoulder to see Cloud run his hand through his hair.

"I'm sorry too, I guess"

He walked a little closer to her but stayed a few steps away.

"You're right. I was being unfair. I guess…I was living in the past and wasn't paying attention to what was happening in the present"

He shamefully looked at the ground.

"I guess…I thought that if I didn't think about Aerith, then she would be sad"

Mikomi gave him a small grin. She reached out and ruffled his hair.

"Silly. I'm sure Aerith would be sad that you're making yourself miserable by looking back into the past. She didn't sacrifice herself just so you can mope about the past. She would want you to be happy"

She rubbed her head nervously.

"Or at least that's what I think. I don't know what she was like so I can't speak for her"

Cloud shook his head.

"No. She would want that. I can't keep living in the past like this. She wouldn't want that"

He looked at her. He didn't see Aerith this time. He just saw Mikomi as herself.

"I'm sorry about this. I've been having a hard time lately"

"Don't worry about it" She said happily. "Let's just pretend it never happened and start over"

She held out her hand out to him.

"Hi. I'm Mikomi Uzumaki"

Cloud couldn't help the smirk that appeared in his face as he shook hands with her.

"I'm Cloud Strife"

Mikomi giggled at his antics.

"Thank you for saving me before. I hope we can be good friends in the future"

"I hope so too"

She lightly pulled him inside.

"Let's go. I'm sure Tifa is wondering what's taking us so long"

She let go of his hand and walked back into the dining room. He looked at his hand for a moment.

'_I hope I'm doing the right thing"_

"_You are. It's not such a bad thing to make new friends, silly"_

He let a small grin appear on his face.

"_Maybe it isn't"_

He walked back into the dining room to where everyone was waiting for him.

Tifa was surprised to see Cloud smiling when he came back. She glances at Mikomi to see her giving her a thumbs up.

She smiled at that. Now things wouldn't be so uncomfortable with everyone. Serving up dinner, she was glad to see Cloud talking with Mikomi about stuff.

"_This girl sure is amazing" _she thought.

She was sure everyone else was thinking the same thing.

Somewhere up in the heavens, Aerith smiled watching her friends. She was glad that Cloud was actually talking to Mikomi now without any trouble.

"_Thank you Mikomi Uzumaki"_ She said softly. "_You have my sympathy"_

Sure enough, Mikomi felt that someone was watching over her from then on.

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A/N: So now Cloud is talking to Mikomi. Leave it to Aerith and Tifa to straighten him out. Just wait until he realizes what he has gotten himself into, it's going to be crazy.

Hope that chapter was to everyone's liking; I'll post the next one up soon.

Ja ne


	9. Missing You

Chapter 9: Missing you

A/N: We're going to take a break on Mikomi for now and see how Naruto's coping. Poor little guy, he must really miss his sister.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. If I did I would be swimming in all of the money they were making. (Sighs)

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

Naruto followed his team back to the village. They just finished a mission in a nearby mission and were now just returning.

He looked towards the gates to see if he would find his sister waiting for him. Sadly, no one was there.

He sighed sadly. It had been two weeks since she left for her mission, and she still wasn't back.

_Don't worry, Naruto. I'll have this mission done sooner than you know it._

That's what she said to him, but it looked like her mission was harder than she thought. He just hoped that she was alright.

They went to the Hokage tower and reported their mission to them. Sarutobi dismissed them and told them they had the rest of the day off. Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi left the room. Naruto stood behind so he could ask the Hokage a question.

"Um…Hokage-sama…I had a question to ask"

Sarutobi peered at him through his pipe. He had feeling he knew what the young boy was going to ask but he listened anyway.

"I was wondering if you heard anything from Nee-chan yet. Is she almost done with her mission yet? Is she coming back?"

Sarutobi sighed deeply. He knew this was going to happen. He didn't want to break the news to him, but he had to know.

"I'm afraid I have some bad news regarding you're sister" he said wearily.

He looked at the boy sadly.

" I talked to the Mizukage and asked about whether or not your sister fulfilled her mission there. According to him, she had finished it two weeks ago and had returned to the village. Since she hasn't retuned yet, I'm sure you know what that means"

He felt his blood run cold. He didn't want to know what that meant.

"Are you saying…nee-chan is dead?" his voice shook.

"I wouldn't know about that. Since we haven't found a body, we can only assume that she has been kidnapped or something else. I have Anbu Black Ops searching for her as we speak"

That didn't make him feel any better. There was a 50/50 chance that she was still alive. How could this make it any better.

"what happens if you don't find nee-chan?"

Sarutobi took a drag from his pipe.

"If we don't find her in a week's time, then we can only assume that she is dead. Until then, we will keep a lookout"

That just made it even worse. He wanted to yell at him and scream at him saying that wasn't good enough. Tell him he had to do a better job than that. But he simply couldn't. He bowed and thanked him before leaving the room.

He leaned against the door after it closed. This was too unreal for him. His sister couldn't be dead or missing, could she?

"So, they're going to search for her for about a week?"

Naruto saw his sensei leaning against a wall reading his favorite book.

"Kakashi-sensei, you heard?"

The Jonin nodded before putting his book away.

"A week won't be enough. I don't know what the Hokage is thinking"

Naruto got in his face.

"Do you think it's true? Do you think that nee-chan is …dead?"

Kakashi gave him a grin. (A/N: or at least we think he is)

"Nah. Your sister is too stubborn to die like that. She's probably missing or something"

"But..what if they don't find her?"

"She'll show up. She never did like being searched for. Just go home for the night. I'm sure we'll find something out tomorrow"

Naruto nodded glumly. He left his Sensei and headed for his apartment.

When Naruto was out of sight, Kakashi performed a few handsigns.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Pakkun appeared before Kakashi.

"What's up, Kakashi?" the pug asked.

"I need you to find Mikomi. Since she can summon dogs too, you'll be able to appear right in front of her. When you find her, ask about her situation and report back, then I want you to stay with her until you both come back together. Got it?"

The pug gave him a mock salute.

"Anything for the girl you love"

A blush appeared over the scarecrows mask.

"Just get going"

"Aye aye,captin"

He disappeared with a 'poof'.

Kakashi sighed deeply. He glanced out the window to see the setting sun.

"Mikomi, please be ok"

Naruto kicked a pebble that lay on one of the many streets that filled the village. He headed to his little apartment that the village provided him. There was no point in going to his sister's house with her not around. Plus it was lonely staying in such a big house by himself.

He passed the Academy as he went home. He remembered when Mikomi would always wait for him when class got out. She would always sit on the swing and greet him with a big hug when she spotted him.

_Flashback_

_Naruto walked out of the Academy with a sour look on his face. He failed the graduation exam again. He saw everyone wearing their new headbands with pride. He sadly looked at the ground_

"_Naruto!" _

_Mikomi ran up to him and gave him a big hug. He returned it half-heartedly, due to the fact that he was still upset with himself._

_She pulled away and looked at him._

"_So, how did you do?"_

_He looked at his feet._

"_I failed…again" he mumbled._

_She gave him a sympathetic look before hugging him again._

"_That's ok. I don't care if you fail a hundred times; I'm just proud you did your best"_

"_But… I didn't get my headband!"_

"_I don't care about some stupid headband. It's just a piece of metal and fabric. I care about the knowledge and skills you obtained from learning, that is what's most important to me"_

_She stood up and held his hand._

"_Now let's go celebrate with some Ichiraku Ramen!"_

"_But, I didn't graduate"_

"_So? We'll just celebrate you learning something new"_

_He smiled up at her._

"_Thank you Nee-chan!"_

_He wrapped his arms around her legs. She smiled at him and ruffled his hair._

"_Just remember Naruto. No matter how many times you have take the graduation test, I'll still be proud of you no matter what"_

_She kissed him on the forehead._

"_You just keep being adorable, ok?"_

_Naruto ginned at her._

"_You won't have to worry about that. I'm always adorable"_

_She laughed._

"_That's good to know. Now let's get some ramen"_

_They both left the Academy and went to celebrate one of Naruto's accomplishments._

_End flashback_

He looked up at the Hokage monument.

"_No matter what I did, Nee-chan was always proud of me"_

He stared at the Fourth Hokage's face. He always felt calm when looked up at his idol.

He clapped his hands as if he were praying.

"I don't know if you can hear me, but…please protect Nee-chan. Bring her back home safely to me. I can't lose her, she's my only family"

He bowed to the figure and headed for home.

Little did he know that his prayer was already answered? After all, any parent would protect their child, even if they didn't know it.

That is was the Fourth Hokage did ever since he scarified his life to protect his two children.

A/N: sorry it was so sort. I just thought everyone would want to know how Naruto was doing while Mikomi was gone. He has a really nice sister, even if they aren't related by blood.

Look forward to those reviews

See you next time.


	10. Never fear, Pakkun's here

Chapter 10: Never fear, Pakkun's here

Now we're back to Mikomi. Let's see how she's been doing these past two weeks, shall we?

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7 so deal with it, I have to.

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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Another week went by for Mikomi. She was still stuck on Gaia sadly, but it wasn't really so bad. Cloud had managed to be more sociable since he had that talk with her. He could look at her now without seeing Aerith's face.

Mikomi was much the same. Even though she never admitted it to anyone, she saw her father or Naruto whenever she got the chance to get a glimpse of him. It was a little sad that it was true, but she knew that her father and brother weren't here and that it wouldn't be right to Cloud if that's what she saw in him. They both made a deal not to compare each other to someone else for each other's own good. So far they kept their promise without any trouble.

Or at least tried to stay out of trouble.

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"Come on! Throw harder!"

She was teaching him how to throw kunai knives. Yuffie was creaming him and hitting the target every time. Cloud couldn't even hit the target. He would either throw way off or the knife would bounce off the board.

"You throw like a girl! Yuffie can do a better job than you!"

Cloud just glared at her. True, he was getting along with her better, but she could get on his nerves sometimes. Today was no exception.

He threw another Kunai. He managed to get it to stick to the target, but it wasn't anywhere near the bulls eye.

He cursed at his own luck. H should have known that he was more attuned to swords that messily little knives. What was he thinking? He couldn't handle such small objects, he used big. This was just a waste of his time.

Mikomi grabbed his face and made him face the target. He looked like he could use a little help.

"Try this: I want you to picture the person you hate the most. Pretend the target is your enemy and you want to strike him down. Don't think about the bull's eye, just picture that person's face and aim for the kill. Make sure they don't get up ever again"

Cloud didn't need to think hard on how he hated. He saw Sephiroth where the target was. He just looked at him with that cold, cruel smirk he would always wear.

"_Face it, Cloud. No matter how many times you cut me down, I will still return. You don't have the strength to beat me. You're simply an empty puppet" _

The knife flew like a bullet and went through the target. It stuck in the wall behind it and looked like it was never going to come out again.

Mikomi clapped.

"Now that's more like it. Just keep throwing like that and you'll be an expert in no time"

Cloud simply kept throwing his knives at the 'Sephiroth' target until he ran out of knives. All stuck within the bull's eye. He was proud, yet disappointed that was all over so soon. He needed to let out some steam and was the trick.

Mikomi handed him some more knives from her pouch. She winked at him as she dropped them in his hand.

"Go wild, but not to wild or else you'll hurt someone"

She patted him in the shoulder as she walked past him to check on Yuffie's progress.

With more knives in hand, he kept hacking away at his invisible enemy.

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"Man that was some workout!" Yuffie lounged in one of the booths. Cloud and Mikomi sat across from her.

"That was pretty good" Mikomi admitted. "If you were from Konoha, I'd say that you would have what it take to be a Konoha ninja"

Yuffie pumped her chest with her fist.

"I'm a full blooded ninja. I can take on whatever you Konoha wannabe's have in store"

Mikomi laughed.

"You're on then"

Cloud didn't say anything but simply smirked.

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A loud popping sound caught everyone's attention. Mikomi felt something heavy land on her head.

"What the? Where the heck am I?"

Mikomi knew that voice. Picking up the object that was on her head, she found none other than…

"Pakkun!"

She hugged the pug close to her chest.

"Oh, I've missed you so much! It's been so long!"

"Ack! Can't …breath" the little dog choked.

"Oh, sorry"

She dropped him on the table. The pug cracked his neck to get all the kinks out.

"Geez, your chest is a dead trap. You could kill someone if you're not careful"

He looked you when he realized that he wasn't the only one in the room.

"Oh"

Mikomi picked him up.

"Pakkun. These are a couple of friends of mine. This is Yuffie Kisaragi and Cloud Strife"

Both of them waved at the dog awkwardly. They didn't know how they were suppose to greet a talking dog.

Pakkun waved a paw at them.

"What's up?"

Mikomi placed back on the table again.

"What are you doing here, Pakkun? I didn't summon for you"

"Kakashi did' he said as he looked at his other owner. "He was getting worried about you, so he sent me to find you. The Hokage has sent out a search party for you to see if you're still alive"

She sweat dropped slightly.

"Um…I'm most positive that I'm not dead"

"I can see that, but…where the hell are we?"

"Um…that's kind of a long story. But you can tell Kakashi that I'm alright, I just won't be coming back until I figure out how. Ok?"

The little pug sighed.

"Only you could get caught up in something so complex. Hang on, I'll send the message and come right back. Don't do anything stupid while I'm gone"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"I can manage, thank you very much"

He gave a mock salute before 'poofing' away.

Mikomi laughed nervously.

"Sorry about that. Pakkun is a dog that I summon when I need help. He really belongs to my friend, Kakashi but I kind of own him too"

They just shrugged it off. They had seen weirder things than dogs popping out of nowhere before. This was Gaia after all.

Pakkun came back a few minutes later.

"I told the Hokage your situation and he asked for me to stay with you until you return. So you're stuck with me until you return home"

Mikomi sweat dropped.

"We're being babysat by a pug? That's kind of low"

"_Yeah, no kidding"_

Tifa came into the room. She spotted Pakkun on the table.

"Where did we get a pug?"

"This is Pakkun, he's my summoning dog" Mikomi said. "He's going be with us for a couple days just so my village knows that I'm alive"

Pakkun waved at Tifa.

"What's up?"

She waved back at him.

"Hi. I'm Tifa Lockheart"

He nodded at her in acknowledgement before looking at Mikomi.

"So, care to explain what the heck is going on and why you're here?"

She rubbed her head nervously.

"Well…it's kind of a strange thing really. I was coming back from my mission and I somehow wound up in a different world through this strange orb"

She held up her strange materia to add her point. Pakkun looked at her skeptically. That was a load of bull, but then again, Mikomi never did lie or made stuff up, so perhaps she was telling the truth.

"Do you know when you'll be back?"

"Well… not at the moment, but as soon as I figure out to work this materia thing, then I'll be back. But for now, it's undecided"

The pug sighed. Leave it to Mikomi to get it a sticky situation.

"Wait until Kakashi hears about this" he mumbled.

Denzel and Marlene came downstairs to see what the commotion was all about. Marlene's eyes lit up when she saw Pakkun.

"Oh, a puppy!"

She picked him up and cuddled him. Pakkun tried to get out of the girl's grasp.

"Hey, let me go! I'm not a puppy; I'm a full fledged ninja dog. I can rip you to pieces if I had the chance!"

It was useless since Marlene had him pinned. Sighing in defeat, he simply let her cuddle him. He didn't mind really, he just didn't like being called a puppy.

Mikomi snickered at the scene. Pakkun had to suffer the wrath of a little girl. Next thing he knew he would be dressed up in frilly clothes. She remembered when she did that to him when she was little. He was not happy about it when she did that.

Still, it was nice now that she wasn't the only stranger on this world. Pakkun was with her and he would keep her safe, despite his size. She just hoped her new friends didn't mind having a talking dog amongst them. He could be a real chatter box at times.

This was going to be interesting.

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A/N: sorry for the shortness. It was just filler for Pakkun's entrance to the story. I look forward to those reviews. And for Bakuto Masaki, I will use your OC in the story; I just need to figure out how to introduce him in.

See you next time.

Until then,

Ja ne


	11. Befriending the vampire

Chapter 11: Befriending the vampire

**A/N: Thank you Sunakollx for being the second reviewer to my story! (Anime tears) This is dedicated to Bakuto Masaki and Sunakollx for being such devoted fans. And to show my appreciation, I will add their OC's to my story. For those who are reading and not reviewing, this is the reward you get from reviewing.**

**Anyway, on with the story.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

"**Chaos talking"**

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It was another day at Seventh Heaven. Today was one of those days where the bar wasn't busy and Tifa was allowed to relax. But with Mikomi around, she was able to do that more than before. She helped her out with the customers and prepared the meals they ordered. And when the bar was busy, she just used a few shadow clones to help serve the drinks.

The two of them had became good friends. Mikomi was the loyal protective one while Tifa was the patent listening one. They were like peas and carrots, they went well together.

Everyone became certainly close to their foreign friend.

Cloud turned out to be like an older brother figure, always keeping an eye out for her.

Barret became a second father to her and treated her the same way he would treat Marlene.

Yuffie was her partner in crime and would play tricks on everybody, especially Cid.

Cid was great to talk with; he even taught Mikomi how to swear better, much to everyone's annoyance.

Red Xlll was filled with wisdom and was the one Mikomi would go to if she had a question.

Cat Sith was her cuddling companion and would perch on her shoulder from time to time.

Denzel and Marlene were like her little brother and sister, always playing with them and teaching them new things.

Everyone was close to Mikomi, except for Vincent Valentine. For some reason, he tended to stay away from her and would just hide in the shadows. How very odd.

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Mikomi sat in one of the booths playing poker with the guys. After spending half of her life being near Tsunade, she had learned how to gamble properly, and how to drink too, much to her father's disapproval. She didn't lose like the legendary sucker, but she won a few jack pots in her time. It was one of those gifts she possessed. It came in handy, like right now.

"That's it! I quit!"

Cid slammed his cards down on the table. This was the third time that Mikomi won a match. She smiled at all the poker chips she had piled in front of her. Cloud and Barret folded when they saw they had a bad hand.

"Geez, Mikomi. You could win the jackpot at Gold Saucer with that talent" Barret said.

Mikomi shrugged.

"I wouldn't call it a talent, but I have won a lot of money from time to time"

She took a swig of beer that she asked Tifa for.

"Aren't you a little too young to be drinking?" Cloud asked suspiciously.

Mikomi waved him off.

"We don't really have an age limit in Konoha. Once you become a Jonin, then you're allowed to drink. Although, I did drink some Sake when I was four by accident. I thought it was water, but it turns out it was my godfathers drink. My dad was so mad when he found me drunk, but it was worth it. 'Sighs' those were the good old days"

Everyone looked at her strangely as she went down memory lane. That wasn't really something they would be happy remembering.

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A girlish scream came up from upstairs.

"What the heck?"

Hurried footsteps came down to reveal Pakkun. The poor pug was dressed up in a frilly dress with a curly blonde wig on. He jumped on the table and grabbed his owner with his tiny paws.

"Mikomi! You got to do something! That girl won't stop dressing!"

Everyone had stop themselves from giggling. Pakkun looked like Marie Antoinette only as a dog. He tried to pull the dress off but failed since he didn't have any thumbs.

He quickly got into Barret's face.

".Pal. I don't mean to sound mean, but you have to do something about your daughter. This is no way to treat a ninja dog. I kill people for god's sake. I can't be dressed in frilly things, it will ruin my reputation"

Mikomi patted Pakkun's curly head.

"Don't worry, Pakkun. I'll say something to Marlene"

"Thank you" he sighed in relief.

Marlene came down with another dress in her hands.

"Pakkun, why did you leave? I was just about to put this pretty dress on you"

She held up the sparkly pink dress. The pug cowered in fear and tried to hide behind Cloud. Mikomi squatted down so she could face Marlene.

"Marlene, you really shouldn't dress Pakkun up like that"

"Really?" the little girl asked sadly.

"Yeah. He's a ninja dog after all. He needs to be dressed better than this. He needs something with more frills and lace"

"What?!" Pakkun snapped.

"A ninja dog needs to look his best. And I think a frilly dress with a lot of bows fits the bill. Think you can manage that?"

Marlene nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, I can do that"

Mikomi picked up Pakkun and handed him to her.

"Then I leave Pakkun in your care. Make sure you make him look nice and pretty"

Marlene went back upstairs with Pakkun screaming at her.

"Mikomi, you brat! How can you do this to me!? You're so gonna get it when I get my paws on you! Mark my words!"

She just laughed. That dog was filled with empty threats. The guys just continued snickering. Even Cloud found that funny, since he was grinning. And if Cloud smiled, then that had to be really funny.

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The sound of a door opening caught everyone's attention. Vincent walked into Seventh Heaven, his cape swooshing behind him as he walked.

"Hey, Vincent" Cid greeted him.

The silent Turk simply gave him a nod in response. Mikomi gave him a big smile and a wave. She had been trying to get closer to the silent gunman for a week so far, but she failed every time.

"Hi, Vincent. Do you want to play a game of poker with us?" She held up a deck of cards for him.

Vincent looked at her for a moment before shaking his head.

"Sorry, maybe some other time"

He walked off to the back, probably to see if Tifa could give him a free beer.

Mikomi had anime tear in her eyes.

"What gives? I've been trying to be nice to him and he just pushes me away. Is he afraid that I'll bite or something?"

"It's nothing personal, kid" Barret said

"Vincent is just being Vincent" Cloud added.

She slumped in her seat.

"He is one complicated person. I just wanted to befriend him, but it almost seems like he doesn't want to be friends with anybody"

"It's not that Vincent doesn't like anybody…he just has issues. He went through a lot in the past, you know, with the whole experimenting and all"

Mikomi had vague explanation about everyone's past. She knew that Vincent was experiment by a mad scientist named Hojo, but she didn't know the outcomes of those experiments. She wanted to find out, but she thought that would be an invasion of everyone's privacy. They never asked her about anything personal about her, so why should she ask them about theirs?

Still, it didn't help with the fact that she wanted to get close to the silent gunman. She wanted to be friends with all of AVALANCHE and that included Vincent Valentine. She mentally came up with a plan.

"_Operation Befriend Vincent Valentine is a go! I won't rest until I'm friends with him"_

"Good luck with that. He's going to be one tough cookie. You have my sympathy, and if things don't work out, you can always use my method: Brutal beatings! Just a couple slugs to the jaw, maybe a kick in the crotch and you'll be friends in no time"

"_Your methods are kind of scary, Usagi. I'll stay away from them unless I'm that desperate"_

"Ok. But the offer is still on the table"

She simply tuned her fox friend out and did another round of beating the boys at Poker.

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Denzel came inside with Yuffie. He held a shoe box in his hand with holes punched at the top.

"Hey, guys! Yuffie caught me a pet!"

The Wutai nodded in agreement.

"Yep. And I think it's a pretty cool pet too"

Denzel placed the box on the table for them.

"You wanna see him? I named him Kumo"

"Sure, I'll see the little guy" Mikomi said as she lifted the lid. She thought it would be a frog or some small furry animal, but she saw nearly scared her to death. It was furry alright, but not the kind of furry she was hoping to see. Inside the box was a big, fat tarantula.

She screamed and fell out of the booth. Quickly getting to her feet, she backed away from the creature as far away as she could. She was absolutely terrified of spider, and now there was a tarantula in front of her.

Tifa and Vincent came running in from the back.

"What's going on?" Tifa asked worriedly.

Denzel pulled Kumo out of the box to show her.

"Yuffie got me a pet"

Tifa shrieked a little but quickly composed herself.

"T-that's nice, Denzel. W-why don't you put in a cage or something and leave it in your room for now?"

He nodded and put Kumo back in the shoebox.

"C'mon, Kumo. Let's take you to your new room"

He ran upstairs to show his pet where it would live.

Mikomi looked at Cloud when the boy was gone.

"Can I kill it?" she asked hopefully.

Cloud shook his head.

"I don't need you killing innocent little animals in the house"

"That thing isn't innocent! It's an evil little creature, just waiting to get the opportunity to bite you and have you die from its venom!"

Marlene ran downstairs with Pakkun in tow. She jumped into Barret's lap and hid her face in his lap.

"Daddy, Denzel brought a creepy spider in our room and said that it was going to be his pet"

"See? Marlene doesn't like it either. You'll have to get rid of it now. You don't want to scare a poor innocent little girl do you?"

"I thought it looked cool" Barret said.

Mikomi jabbed a finger at him.

"That's bad parenting right there! You prefer a spider over your own daughter? What kind of father are you?!"

"Oh, knock it off Mikomi" Pakkun said. He wasn't dressed up anymore, much to his relief. But he did have a few sparkles stuck to him from the dress.

"Just because you're afraid of spiders, doesn't mean you have to go ballistic over it"

She just glared at the pug. Yuffie snickered a bit.

"'Komi-chan, you're afraid of spiders?"

She blushed deeply. Her friend was laughing at her fears, some friend she was.

"N-no. I just don't like them. They're nasty, creepy and evil and they'll kill you the moment they get the chance to!"

"You're so full of it" Pakkun said. "You just think they're evil because one of them bit you when you when you were six"

"Hey! That thing almost killed me and Yuri nearly cut my leg off because the bite was so bad"

Pakkun shook his head. He decided to humiliate her in front of her friends since they were all here. Plus, this was pack back for making Marlene dress him up in those dresses.

"When Mikomi was Six, she got bit by this 'big' spider. She flips put, thinking she's going to die from the venom and almost had her godmother cut her leg off. The thing was harmless and she was overreacting to a puny spider. And she calls herself a ninja, pathetic"

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's face. She lifted her foot up on one of the chairs and pulled her pant's up, revealing a nasty bite mark on her leg.

"Could something puny do this?! That thing was a big as my head!"

"You're such a drama queen!'

"And you're a cross dressing Dog!"

Pakkun growled at her as they had a glaring contest. Marlene went and hugged her.

"Don't worry Onee-chan. I don't like spiders either"

She hugged the little girl back.

"Thank you, Marlene. At least somebody cares, unlike some people" She glared at Yuffie.

She waved her hands in front of her innocently.

"I wasn't making fun of you! I just thought it was silly that a strong fighter like you could be afraid of something so harmless"

"They are not harmless! They are evil beings and they must die! All of them!"

The guys just looked at her strangely.

"Don't look at me that way! Spiders are evil and you know it!"

They just looked away from her and went back to their game, pretending that nothing happened. Mikomi looked at Tifa and Vincent.

"You don't think I'm crazy, do you?"

Tifa smiled at her gently.

"Of course not. It's alright to be afraid of something. That's just how humans are, right Vincent?"

Vincent just nodded silently. He didn't seem to talk much.

She just smiled at them, glad that she had someone on her side.

Vincent walked towards the door.

"Are you leaving, Vincent?"

He looked back at Mikomi.

"I have things that need to be done"

"Oh, well, be careful then"

His eyes held warmth to them as he nodded. He left without saying another word.

Mikomi sighed and sat on one of the stools.

"I wonder why Vincent is so distant towards everyone."

Tifa handed her a drink before taking a seat herself.

"He's got his reasons. He just doesn't like getting real close to people unless he wants to"

"Why? Is he afraid that they'll bite him or something?"

Tifa giggled.

"No. It's more like he's afraid that he'll bite us"

"Huh?"

Tifa made sure the others were playing before she got real close to her.

"I know it's none of my business, but I'm sure the other would want you to know for your own safety"

"Safety? What safety?"

"Vincent isn't really… normal. You know had things done to him, right?"

"Yeah"

"Well, let's just say that one of those experiments made him into a host for a very scary monster. He has a demon inside of him that tends to get lose every once in a while"

Her mouth fell open. She didn't know weither to be worried that her friend told her this or glad at the fact that she wasn't the only one with something sleeping inside her.

"Hey, at least you're not the only one here"

She ignored Usagi for the moment. She was more concerned about Vincent's little secret.

"Is that why he's so anti-social towards everyone?"

"Yeah, but you get used to it. Vincent just likes to be alone is all"

Mikomi looked at her drink.

"No one wants to be alone" she mumbled

"Huh?"

"Nothing"

The sound of something roaring from outside caught everyone's attention. Cloud rushed to the window to see what was going on.

"Shit!"

He ran outside, drawing his Buster Sword out. Everyone followed suite and ran after Cloud. Tifa quickly ushered Marlene upstairs before going out. Mikomi was the last to rush out with Pakkun in tow.

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The streets were in total chaos. Everyone ran away in fear. Mikomi ran in the opposite direction and tried to keep up with Tifa. She held Pakkun close to her chest and pushed against the crowd. Something horrible must be happening if everyone was running away.

She skidded to a stop when she saw everyone. They all had their weapons drawn out. She tried to see what was going on, but her friends were in the way. Looking through the gap between Cid and Barret, she saw what was happening.

A fierce, angry monster stood before them. The only way to describe it was that it looked like a giant bat, but in human form. Its large wings were all tattered and had holes in some places. Fangs bared out from its mouth, ready to bite into something. Claws as sharp as razors clenched and unclenched at its side. Overall, it was like looking at a living nightmare.

Mikomi never felt so scared before. The only time she ever felt this fear was when the nine tailed fox attacked her village and killed her father. But now, she felt like she was staring death in the face.

"W-what's that?"

"That's Chaos" Cloud said grimly.

"Who?"

"Chaos. He's the demon that sleeps within Vincent"

She looked at Chaos again. Now that she thought about it, it did have some of Vincent's features.

Chaos roared loudly. He tried to get past them so it could attack the town's people, but AVALANCE kept him at bay.

"He has to lose control now of all times!?" Cid barked.

Mikomi just watched as they kept struggling against each other. It was like watching a battle of tug-a-war. One would push the other and the other would push back.

She caught sight of Chaos' eyes. Her breath caught in her throat when she looked at them. They looked so helpless and scared as the fighting continued. It was as if he was trying to tell someone that he didn't mean to cause this trouble, that he didn't want this to happen.

"Those eyes remind me of two certain children" Usagi said.

Mikomi agreed. She wore that same expression whenever she lost control. It was sad and frightening to turn into something that people feared. Not to mention unfair.

She could understand now why Vincent was so distant towards everyone. He was afraid that he would hurt his friends if he lost control. Including her.

"_All this time, he was trying to protect me. That was why he didn't want to get close to me"_

"You don't see that a lot these days"

She nodded. She continued to watch Vincent lose control.

"_This isn't right. Someone should talk to him"_

"Think you're up for the task?"

"_If not, I know you always got my back"_

Alright, but be careful"

She looked at Pakkun who seemed to know what she was going to do.

"Don't get yourself killed" he said.

"So long as you keep everyone at bay"

"Not a problem"

With that, she ran past Cloud and went near Chaos.

"Mikomi! Stay away from him!"

Cloud tried to go after her, but Pakkun jumped up and bit his arm real hard.

"Relax" the pug said when he let go. "Mikomi knows what she's doing. Just don't get in her way"

Cloud tried to after her again, but Pakkun kept biting him, as well as anyone who tried to go after her. He knew that his master could handle herself on her own. She has been for the past thirteen years.

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Chaos roared uncontrollably. He was on a killing spree but Vincent was fighting for control.

"**Give it up pal; you're not winning this time"**

Mikomi stood a few feet away from him. She took a defensive stance in case she needed to attack.

Chaos grinned evilly.

"**Well what do you know? My first victim of the day. And you came at me, now I don't have to chase you"**

He swung his claw at her, only to miss her by a hair. She flashed stepped out of the way and faced him from behind.

"I don't want to fight with you. I just thought we could talk"

Chaos laughed. It echoed throughout the streets.

"**That's rich, kid. You come at me just so we can talk? Now that is funny"**

He continued laughing at her. He held his side when it became too much for him. Then he held his face when he got hit in the face.

Mikomi landed a chakra filled punch to his jaw before aiming a kick to his stomach. Chaos doubled over and landed in a heap.

"**You got some bite to you, kid"**

His golden eyes gleamed.

"**I like that!"**

He went after her and kept swinging his claw. She kept dodging and jumping out of the way. This wasn't what she had planned.

"I just want to talk!" She yelled as she dodged another attack.

"**And I just was to tear you limb from limb! But it seems like we can't always get what we want not can we!"**

She jumped a few feet away from. She breathed heavily from all of the running and dodging. Sweat dripped from her forehead.

"Let's make a deal. We'll have a duel and do whatever the winners say. If I win, you have to stop and listen to me. If I lose, then you can kill me however you please. Deal?"

Chaos gave her a toothy grin.

"**It's a deal! But I already know who's going to win!"**

"Don't to be too sure of yourself. Nothing is decided until the end" She recited one of the Third Hokage's quotes.

They both lowered to a crouching position. Both looked at each other with the intention to win. No one said a word as they looked at each other. No one moved a muscle.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Chaos flew at her with ungodly speed. He pulled out his gun called Death Penalty and fired at her.

Mikomi jumped in the air and performed rapid handsigns.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

She sent out fire balls at him.

"**Ha! Like that will do any damage to me!"**

He doused out the flames with just a swing of his arm. What he didn't realize what that there were shuriken hidden within the flames.

"**What?!"**

They impaled into him as they came down. Blood dripped from his wounds. His body shook with laughter.

"**Oh yeah! Now that is what I'm talking about! I'm going to have fun killing you!"**

He flew up in the air and grabbed her by the ankle. He swung her down to the ground and watched as she made impact. She lay in a huge crater, her body as lifeless as a doll.

"**That was too easy!"**

"Oh really?"

Chaos turned around to see Mikomi behind her. The Rasengan swirled in her hand.

"**What?!"**

Chaos looked at the 'Mikomi' that lay in the crater to see it turn into a log.

"Don't underestimate me!"

She slammed her Rasengan into his chest and watched as he slammed into the ground. She landed next to his body and watched as he struggled to get up.

"It's useless to get up. Just stay down so you don't hurt yourself anymore"

Chaos just laughed at her.

"**I can't believe I lost to a kid like you. You're pretty strong, considering you're just a kid"**

He smile dimmed a bit.

"**But then again…you're not really a normal kid, if you know what I mean"**

She raised an eyebrow at him. She wasn't going to show that she was panicking on the inside. She didn't think any of them would find out about Usagi.

"You knew?"

"**I coarse I did. You're aura is as strong as mine. Even a blind person could tell that something is sleeping in you"**

"Does Vincent know?"

"**HA! That idiot is so caught up in his own problems that he doesn't know what he's doing half the time"**

She sighed in relief. That was good to know.

"**Well, since I lost, it looks like I have to listen to whatever you have to say"**

"That's right"

"**So, what was so important that you wanted to ask little old me?"**

"I'm just curious about you're little out breaks. Why does Vincent suddenly lose control and have you come out"

"**Isn't it obvious? I want out! I'm tired of being trapped inside this pathetic body every single day! I can't do anything except watch this body do whatever it wants. I want to be free and terrorize people like I used to do. But every time I try to get free, you guys interfere and seal me back up in this god damn body! It's not fair! Your demon must know how I feel"**

"Maybe, but then again, she was willing to stay inside of me just so she could save my home. That was her sacrifice that she was willing to make. And what about you? How were you sealed inside Vincent?"

Chaos growled in annoyance. He didn't look pleased.

"**I almost died when I was fighting this monster called Omega. If I wasn't resting in this body, then I would be as good as dead. Vincent was in the same situation as me. He almost died if I didn't show up. Now I have to live as a prisoner to this weak little human who morns all the time. It's so pathetic"**

"Would you have rather died than being where you are now?"

"**No! I didn't want to give up my hobby of striking fear to everyone I saw. I lived for that! But now I'm being punished in this wretched prison"**

"Well, you should be grateful then. If it wasn't for Vincent, then you would be six feet under. If you want to be free then so be it, just remember that wouldn't last long on your own, so quit your bitching"

Chaos looked at her before laughing.

"**You've got guts, kid. No one has ever had the balls to talk to me like that. I like that"**

She grinned at him.

"I just hate hearing people complain how horrible their lives are. My life has been a living hell for thirteen years and you don't see me complaining. 'Sighs' Listen, all I'm saying is cut Vincent some slack. He's hasn't done anything to you and he's letting you live in his body, you owe him"

Chaos shrugged.

"**Well, I guess you have a point. He has tolerated me for a long time, so I guess it's only fair. I'll give him a break then. Plus, it is kind of nice being able to take a nap without people trying to kill you. I guess living this way isn't so bad"**

"That's good to hear. Now are you going to stop you're little rampage?"

"**Sure. I've had enough fun for one day. Plus, I got to fight for a while. You made my day, kid"**

"Thanks, I guess"

"**By the way, what's your name?"**

"I'm Mikomi Uzumaki"

Chaos held out his hand for her.

"**Well then Mikomi Uzumaki, since you were the first person to actually beat me in a long time, I'll always be there to give you a helping hand"**

She shook hands with him.

"Thank you very much. Oh, and before you back to sleep, could you not tell Vincent or anybody else about me having a demon?" She whispered the last part.

"**Anything for a friend"**

"Thank you" she said softly.

He gave her a mock salute before he went back to sleep. Vincent soon laid where Chaos once was. He blinked a couple of times and looked at his surroundings.

"Where..?"

Mikomi pooped into his line of sight.

"Moring, sleepy head!" she cheered

She helped him up to his feet.

"Did you have a nice nap?"

Vincent looked at the crater that he was in, then at his friends. Just by looking them, he knew what happened.

"Did I..?"

Mikomi just pulled them toward their friends.

"Don't worry about it. You didn't hurt anyone, and Chaos wanted to go back inside. Everything is under control"

Vincent tried to pull back. They stopped walking for a moment. Vincent looked at the ground.

"It still doesn't change the fact that I lost control. I let my guard down and let Chaos takeover"

Mikomi just pulled him again.

"Don't worry about it. Nothing happened and that's all that matters. Ok?"

"But I-"

She pulled him by the collar of his cape so that he was eye level with her.

"If I said it was ok, then that means it was ok. Got it?"

She pulled him again with a smile on her face.

"Now let's go see how Cloud is fairing. They were all worried about you, you know. You should let them know that you're alive or something. Alright?"

"How can I-"

She squeezed his hand tightly.

"Alright?" she repeated.

He just nodded continued being dragged by the hyper kunochi.

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(A few hours later)

Everyone went back to the bar for a drink. Vincent explained everything about Chaos and his little outbreaks. Mikomi listened to him while she sipped on her beer. She was a little smashed since this was her third drink and she didn't eat anything.

"So...is that why you kept avoiding me and everyone else?"

Vincent nodded.

"I thought it would be safer for you if I didn't get too close to you. I didn't know when Chaos would get loose again. I'm sorry if you took it the wrong way.

Mikomi just giggle.

"You goof. It'll take more than just to scare me"

She hiccupped slightly as she took another swig of beer. She put her mug down when was finished with her drink.

Looking him square in the eye, she continues talking seriously.

"If you think I'm going to be scared because you have a little demon sleeping inside you, then you're wrong. I've seen scarier things than that and they were more of a threat than Chaos was. You shouldn't be avoiding people just because of that. I'm sure all of us would support you 100%. You're a really nice person, Vincent. You shouldn't hide from people"

"People don't want to be near monsters like me" he said darkly. "They get afraid just by looking at you. It makes you want to give up living in society"

"That's true" Usagi said. "It's just like how everyone treats you and Naruto back home"

She just ignored her, but then again, she did give her a good idea.

"Have I ever told you the story of how my dad saved the village?"

He shook his head no, but listened.

"Well, it all started when-"

"Ow!"

She turned around to see Tifa wrapping up Cloud's arm. Pakkun kept biting him when she was talking to Chaos and left bite marks all over his arm. Cloud glared at the little dog in front of him.

"You evil little monster" he hissed.

Pakkun stuck his tongue at him.

"You're no prize yourself, and when's the last time you ever bathed? You taste horrible"

He tried hitting the pug, but he kept dodging him.

"Hey!" Mikomi snapped. "I'm trying to tell a story, so shut up!"

She turned back to Vincent.

"Anyway, it all started when a nine tailed fox suddenly attacked the village. This fox was so foul that it could cause mountains to crumble just with a swish of its tail. My dad tried to fight this evil beast with our village guardian, Usagi. The battle lasted out for hours. No one seemed to want to lose. So, my dad did the only thing that he knew would work, yet he wished he didn't. He took two small children and used them as vessels. He seal up the nine tailed fox and the village guardian in their bodies. But it came at a price, for my dad died shortly after. It was a great loss, but he died saving the village. Those two children were heroes to some, but to the rest of the village, they were shunned. You would think that everyone would be grateful that they sacrificed themselves to become vessels for these demons. But the village didn't think of it that way. They saw them as the very monsters who attacked the village. They had to live out their lives with sorrow as everyone treated them horribly. I just couldn't stand how they treated those poor children. They did nothing wrong, they were heroes, they saved my home. But I digress; I tried to make them feel like they were heroes. My dad picked them for a reason, so they had to be important. Plus, I'm sure that he would want that"

She placed her hand on top of his.

"What I'm trying to say is., I think of you as a hero for harboring a demon. If it weren't for you, then Chaos would still be terrorizing people and causing trouble. Don't put yourself down just because people don't see you that way. Heroes don't try to be in the spotlight, they take their sacrifice silently"

Vincent was at a loss of words. He didn't know what to say to her. He was amazed that she would see him as a hero while he saw himself as a monster. That didn't make sense. But, it did feel nice to be called that for a change.

Yuffie came over and slung he arm around Mikomi. She was totally drunk and she couldn't even stand properly.

"That was such a sad story, 'Komi-chan" she slurred. "You lost your dad to these two kids, that has to suck"

"It's not so bad. My dad chose these kids to save the village, and I respect them"

"Yeah. (hic) But your village doesn't'

"That's their loss. They just know what a hero is these days. And it's not like everyone hates them. I respect them and keep an eye on them. They were very close to my parents when they were still alive"

"Wow. You're such a nice person, 'Komi-chan" She rubbed her face against hers.

"I bet those kids are really grateful that they have you to take care of them"

"You could say that"

"What are their names anyway? I want to show them my respect if I ever get the chance to meet them"

"You're already talking to one of them"

"_Shh!"_

"well…their names are…"

Pakkun's eyes drilled into her. He didn't like where this was going.

"Mikomi, don't you …"

"Their names are-"

Denzel came running downstairs with a cage in his hands. The lid was open and held no tarantula.

"I can't find Kumo! He got lose!"

The color drained from Mikomi's face. She Jumped into Yuffie's arms and held onto her.

"Spider! Don't let it near me!"

Yuffie lost her footing and both of them fell. Mikomi jumped up and sat on her bar stool tucking her feet under chin.

"Don't let the spider get me!"

She started shaking like a leaf.

Pakkun rolled his eyes at her.

"You are such a baby, Mikomi"

"I am not a baby! I just don't like spiders! And now I have to sleep with one eye open because that evil thing is on the loose"

"It could just be in Denzel's room somewhere. But I guess it's going to be really hard since you share a room with the kids"

Mikomi's face paled.

"_I forgot about that"_

She quickly ran up to Tifa and hugged her tightly.

"Tifa! Can I please stay down here? I won't do anything, I promise! I just don't want to wake to a big hairy spider in my face, Please!?"

She gave her the puppy dog eyes that she was known for. Tifa simply couldn't resist.

"It's fine. I'd rather you have a good night sleep than staying up afraid"

Mikomi hugged her tightly.

"You're such a good friend!"

Tifa just laughed at her. She could be silly at times.

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Everyone went to their rightful homes that night. Mikomi made herself comfortable in one of the booths.

"_There's no way I'm sleeping upstairs with that evil monster on the loose"_

"You really are a baby"

"_Keep it up Usagi. The next time I find a rabbit, I'll be pressing it into your face"_

"Hey! Don't you be making fun of my fear of rabbits!"

"_Then don't be making fun of my fear of spiders!"_

"Fine!"

"_Fine!"_

She laid back in her make shift bed and shut her eyes.

"You almost told them"

She opened an eye to see Pakkun standing on her chest. The little pug looked at her with those knowing eyes of his. She just shrugged at him.

"So what if I did? What's it to you?"

"Nothing, I was just curious why you would tell them your biggest secret, that's all"

She sighed.

"I figured they would be cool with it. They don't mind that Vincent has a demon inside of him, so I thought they would be ok with me"

"I just hope you know what you're doing. I don't want to see you get hurt again"

"I'll be fine, I've dealt with it before"

Pakkun jumped off of her and headed upstairs.

"Just be careful"

Mikomi closed her eyes again.

"I always am"

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The sun filtered through the bars windows. The light didn't really bother Mikomi, but the thing that was tickling her nose was. She felt something furry tickle her face. She groaned and tried to brush it off.

"Pakkun, let me sleep for five more minutes" she groaned.

The tickling kept continuing.

"Pakkun, I said let me sleep for –"

She opened her eyes to see not Pakkun, but rather Kumo instead. The tarantula fright in front of her face so she got a real close up look at it.

She let a blood curlting scream and fell out of the booth. Cloud and Tifa hurried down to see what was going on. Mikomi looked at them as if she had seen a ghost.

"F-f-found Denzel's pet" she stuttered.

Kumo started crawling towards her.

"No! Get away from me you evil thing!"

She tried getting away from it, but it just kept crawling towards her. She was backed up against a wall and had nowhere to go.

"_No! I'm trapped!"_

Kumo kept getting closer and closer towards her. She held herself into a tight ball and started shaking like a leaf.

A hand swooped down and picked him up before it could get close to her. She looked up to see Vincent holding Kumo in his hand.

Denzel came running downstairs.

"Kumo!" he took him from Vincent and went to put him back in his cage.

Vincent looked at Mikomi.

"It's gone. You don't need to be afraid anymore"

A grin spread across her face. She tackled him into a hug.

"Thank you! You saved me! You're my best friend now! If anyone gives you trouble I'll kill them for you!"

She kept hugging him tightly while he tried to pull her off. Needless to say, that was how Mikomi befriended the Vampire.

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**A/N: Yikes! That was long. I hope you guys liked it. And sorry if the fight scene sucked. I'm horrible at writing fight scenes so please bear with me. And as for the whole tarantula incident, that happened to my dad when he was in college so it was a true story. I'll tell you all about it in the next chapter. Now you know the drill: Click on that review button and show your love! I'll hurry up the next chapter soon, but I doubt that it'll be as long as this one. Stay tuned until then.**

**Ja ne.**


	12. Hansou Materia

Chapter 12: Hansou Materia

**A/N: Here's the next chapter. We're almost at the end of part 1 of the story. Just one more chapter and its part 2! I hope you look forward to it as much as I do.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

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Mikomi stared at her strange Materia. It had almost been a month since she landed in Gaia and she still didn't know how it worked. Yuffie wasn't much help since she tried to steal it, and no one else knew what its power was so they couldn't do anything.

Sighing, she rested he head on the table she was sitting at. She rolled her materia around and watched it sparkle in the sunlight. It made it glow slightly like that time she found it the forest, just when it transported her here.

"_If only it was actually glowing, then I could go home" _

She put it back into her pocket and continued to mope. She didn't know how she was going to return home or if she wanted to return anymore. She was starting to like it here and AVALANCHE treated like she was a member of the team. She didn't want to leave the first real friends she made in a long time just yet. Still, she couldn't leave Naruto alone for long either.

"_Life sucks sometimes"_

"Tell me about it"

Her mind was like a roller coaster at the moment. It was filled with loops and turns, she didn't know what was going to happen next. It was one big ride to her.

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Pakkun suddenly appeared in a poof of smoke. The Hokage ordered him to report back on a daily basis to see when Mikomi's return would be. He would always report the same line of 'no change' before returning back to her with news from the village.

He had a scroll in his mouth that he was told to give to Mikomi. Jumping on the table, he plopped it in front of her.

"Mail call"

She sourly looked at the scroll.

"Is this another list of missions that I've missed?" she asked as she held up a scroll the he gave her a few days ago.

"No, this one is from Yuri" the pug said.

She raised an eyebrow.

"Yuri? I wonder what she wants?"

She opened up the scroll to see what her godmother had to say.

_Dearest, 'Komi-chan,_

_I just finished my three month mission and I'll be back sometime next week. You let Naru-kun know, ok? I want to see both of your excited faces when I come back. I can't wait to catch up with you. You know how I hate being away from you for so long. I promise that we'll catch up and have lots of fun._

_Hugs and kisses,_

_Yuri_

She sweat dropped at the letter.

"_Typical Yuri. It's kind of scary that she's raised me for thirteen years"_

Yuffie peered over her shoulder to read the letter.

"Who's Yuri?"

"She's my godmother" Mikomi replied as she put the scroll away.

"She's basically the person who's raised me and my brother since our parents died. It's a little hard to believe, but true"

"Now, don't be dissing Yuri" Pakkun said.

"I'm not dissing her. I just find it scary that a 40 year old woman has the mind of a 5 year old sometimes. I surprised that I'm still alive"

"Is this Yuri really that bad?" Cid asked.

"Yuffie is calm compared to her"

"Now that is scary"

Mikomi shuddered.

"You don't know the half of it. She's like a five year old half of the time, then a cold blooded killer the next. She keeps treating me like I'm still six and won't stop babying me. Naruto's fine with it, but it gets old after a while. Yuri is just one crazy woman and it's like stepping into the twilight zone when you see her. You never know what's going to happen next"

Pakkun suddenly remembered something that he had to tell Mikomi.

"Speaking of Naruto. He's in big trouble with the Hokage"

She sighed wearily.

"What did he do this time, might I ask?"

"He drew graffiti on the Hokage monuments and the paint won't come off. So that's another reason why you need to head home. He's starting to be rebellious again"

She rested her head on the table.

"_I never get any slack. I'm always on my feet, doing something"_

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(Next day)

She took out her materia and examined it for the hundredth time. No matter how many times she looked at it, nothing would happen.

"_Come on you stupid thing, you worked before so why won't you now?"_

She tried everything she could think of. She tried hitting it, smashing it, look for a switch, even wrapped it in paper bombs to explode it (She ran out of ideas and was pissed off). No matter what she did to it, it still did nothing.

In her act of anger, she threw it at one of the walls. It bounced off and hit her right in the face. She fell over like a ton of bricks.

"That's it!"

She got up and went outside. Pulling out a paper bomb, she wrapped it around the materia.

"I've just about had with you" She hissed at it.

She threw it as hard as she cloud in an empty alley.

"Fire in the Hole!" she shouted as she saw Cloud coming with his bike. He didn't know what was going on until the bomb went off. He swiveled a bit from the force of the bomb. He stopped to see what happened, only to find a large crater a few feet away.

Mikomi ran past him.

"Sorry, Cloud"

She slid down the crater to see what damage she had done to that blasted orb. Cloud watched from the edge. He knew what she did since he saw her do it the first time.

"Are you crazy?"

"I can be" Mikomi replied as she dug around.

"You could have killed someone!"

"I did say 'fire in the hole'. It's not like I didn't warn you or anything"

She picked up the materia, only to find it still in one piece. Not a single scratched was seen on its glassy surface. A tick mark appeared on the back of her head.

"That's it!"

She threw it again, only for it to bounce back and hit her again.

She pulled out her sword and started whacking at it.

"Die, you stupid orb!"

She didn't do much damage to it, only her sword suffered.

Cloud shook his head and just went inside.

"You need help" he said to himself. He just ignored her as she had her little anger management moment. It didn't really do anything for her except make her angrier than what she was now.

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She continued to glare at the stupid orb. It remained unscratched while she had several cuts and scrapes from trying to break it. Her head had a bump from when she threw it and it bounced off her head. Who knew such a little thing could cause so much damage?

Cloud took the materia away so she couldn't further damage to it or rather, herself. She drummed her fingers on the table, something she did when she was thinking real hard.

She looked at the materia for a moment.

"How is that thing supposed to work? It did once, so why won't it work again?"

Cloud just shrugged at her.

"I have no idea"

She sighed.

"I need to go home. I have so much work backed up, it's not even funny. Plus I have a rebellious brother to handle"

He looked at her for a moment.

"Are you that desperate to head home?"

"Sadly, yes. I have a lot of work to take care of and I can't let it sit any longer"

He nodded.

"Tifa"

The martial artist came from the back.

"Call the others. We're going to see Rufus"

She nodded and started to make the phone calls. Cloud looked at Mikomi and motioned her to follow him.

"We're going to see someone who might know how to use that materia of yours"

"Really?"

"Yeah. His name is Rufus Shin-Ra. He probably knows everything about this planet and the things living on it"

"Oh"

"_Shin-Ra…that name sounds familiar"_

"Isn't that the company that almost destroyed the world? Or at least what Cloud said?"

"_Oh, yeah! Why would he want to go see him?"_

"Cloud did say he might know how to use that materia, or were you off in la-la land again?"

"_Shut up! That's you!"_

She followed him outside to where he had his bike. He hopped on and started the engine.

"Get on" He said.

She was a little skittish to get on. She had never been on a motorcycle before, so she didn't know how dangerous it was.

"Hey. You've been through worse things before. This will be easy"

Swallowing he nerves, she got in back and held onto Cloud. She nearly dug her nails into his skin as he sped off. She almost fell off the bike, he was going that fast. She didn't see the smirk Cloud had on his face as she tried to hold on for her dear life.

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The trip wasn't that long of a ride. They all arrived at the new Shin-Ra building that was recently built. It wasn't as big as the old one, but then again, Shin-Ra didn't wanted to be as noticeable as they were before.

Cloud came to a stop and turned off his bike. He looked over his shoulder to see if Mikomi was still on. He held back a laugh as he looked at her. She was glued to him with her hair all messed up. She trembled slightly from the sheer fact that she almost fell off during the ride. She immediately jumped off and ran to Tifa.

She held the poor girl as she continued to tremble.

"I think you scared her, Cloud"

He put his goggles away.

"It wasn't that bad"

"I almost fell off!" Mikomi cried.

"You should have held on then"

"I was, but you kept doing these fast turns and nearly threw me off!"

Tifa fixed her hair so it didn't look like a rat's nest. She had such nice hair that she liked to play with it whenever she got the chance to.

"Let's not fight over this. Everyone is waiting for us inside"

Mikomi grumbled but followed her friend inside. She gave Cloud a small glare as he passed by. He just smirked at her and went on ahead. He didn't take her seriously at the moment, which drove her crazy. This was almost like a sibling rivalry moment. It was cute and funny.

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Reno was lounging back on one of the seats when they came in. he had a feeling that they would be seeing Rufus again since Sephiroth hadn't shown his ugly head for a while now. He did however, never expected them to bring a friend with. She looked rather different from the others, but she held this unique beauty to her. This made him interested.

"Well now, I didn't think you would bring a cute friend with you"

Mikomi glared at him. If there was one thing that she hated, it was perverts. She couldn't stand how they would go all ga-ga when they saw a girl with huge tits. Hers weren't as big as Tsunade's but they were big for someone her size.

She just hated it when she passed a drunk and have them hit on her. Sure, she wanted attention, but not that kind of attention. She was surprised that she was able to tolerate Jiraiya for this long. He was the biggest pervert in the world, and to make it worse, her godfather. Still, she glared at Reno as he came up to them.

"What's your name, cutie?"

"It's called none of your business and take a hike"

He laughed at her.

"A little feisty are ya? I like that"

He slung an arm around her. She could feel her temper rising.

"Either take your arm off or I'll rip it off for you"

Pakkun didn't like where this was going. He knew how she felt around pervs and once she lost her temper, she was loose cannon. He just hoped Reno did as he was told before things got ugly.

"That sounds like such a big threat from such a tiny person" Reno chided.

A tick mark appeared on her head. Grabbing his arm, she pulled it back behind his back and held a kunai to his throat.

"Don't mess with me, pal. I've killed a lot of idiots like you and wouldn't mind adding up another one to my list"

Reno started freaking out. He didn't expect this girl to be deadly. Everyone else wasn't paying attention. They were either looking around the building, or were just ignoring them. Cloud was the only one paying attention, it was kind of hard not to when he had Pakkun riding on his shoulder and barking at Mikomi to knock it off. He was tempted to let her kill him, the red head was asking for it. Then again, he didn't want to explain to Rufus that one of his Turks got killed because he was acting like an idiot to his friend.

Sparing the poor Turk, he made Mikomi let go.

"As much as I agree that he needs a serious beating, we didn't come here to fight. Just save it for next time, ok?"

She complied with much to her distaste. Letting him go, she gave him the 'eye-got-my-eye-on-you' look before walking away.

Reeve came to greet them.

"I'm glad to see that you're all here"

He smiled at Mikomi and shook her hand.

"It's finally nice to see you in person, Mikomi"

She looked at him strangely. She never met him before, so how would he know her? Reeve laughed at her puzzled expression.

"I almost forgot, you've only seen me as a robot. I'm Reeve, I control Cat Sith"

The little robot jumped into his arms.

"He sees whatever I see" it said.

Her face lit up instantly. She remembered Cat Sith talking about a Reeve. She gave him a big hug, which he returned equally.

"It's nice to finally meet" she said.

He just laughed full heartedly.

"Hey, man. How come he gets a hug and I get my head almost cut off?" Reno asked.

"That's because you tried to hit on her when you saw her" Cloud said.

The red head rubbed his neck.

"Women are so messed up"

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Rufus came an hour later. Tseng and Rude followed in his trail.

"Well now, I was wondering when you would return"

He spotted Mikomi amongst the group.

"I didn't know you were bringing a friend"

She stepped forward and bowed.

"I'm Mikomi Uzumaki. I've been staying with Cloud for the past month"

Now that made sense. He heard from Reeve that Cloud had picked up a very interesting girl, and now here she was. She did look like she wasn't from around here. Her clothing and accent were a dead giveaway. But the brown hair and green eyes reminded him of a certain Cetra that he knew (A/N: doesn't that get tiring?).

"We actually came here to see if you could help Mikomi with something" Cloud said.

He showed them the strange materia that no one could figure out. He took it away from Mikomi thinking that she might try to blow it up again. He didn't want to get caught in the cross fire again like last time.

Rufus took the materia from him.

"I've never seen a materia like this one before"

He studied it a bit as if he could get a better understanding of it by just looking at it. He motioned them to follow him after he looked at it.

They stepped into some sort of lab. Rufus put the materia into a machine and typed a few things into a computer.

"This will tell us what type of materia you have. It has every materia recorded over the centuries.

He pushed a button and let the machine scan the materia.

Mikomi sighed. She didn't like waiting when it came to things like this. There was so much to do and so little time

She glanced over to see Reno hanging near Rude.

"_I wonder if I scared him?"_ she thought.

She grinned at that. She always enjoyed it when guys would be scared of her. It just proved that she was strong and not to be messed with.

The machine beeped when it finally got a reading. Rufus clicked on the monitor to read what the computer said.

"According to this, that materia you found is called a Hansou materia or otherwise known as the transport materia. It's very rare to create and even very rare to find one. It has the ability to transport you from one place to another. They were used a lot during the wars, but it looks like they were used up to the point that there were none left. In order for it to work, you just have to think of the location that you want to go and it will take you"

He handed her the materia back.

"You found quite an interesting materia. You should be really lucky"

She just looked at her materia. At least she knew how to work it now.

"_The question is, how do I make it work? I've been thinking about going home this whole time, and this thing hasn't worked"_

"Maybe you should try it where you first found it? Stuff like that usually work in the places that they were found"

"_Yeah, but I found this in Konoha. How am I going to get there if I can't even get home?"_

"Well, try that forest that Cloud found you in. I'm sure it'll work there. And if you think about it, you were in a forest when you found it"

"_That does sound like a good idea. I'll try it later when we get back. I don't know where that forest is"_

She pocketed her materia and tuned in to what Cloud was saying.

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Outside of the Shin-Ra building, an all too familiar face stood near one of the buildings. Sephiroth grinned evilly as he looked at the company that made his life a living hell. Kadaj kneeled next to him as he watched Cloud talking with Rufus.

"It's been a while since we've seen brother, haven't we?"

The general nodded.

"A year to be exact"

"Do you think he'll be happy to see us?"

"Probably not. But then again, I'm not happy to see him either"

"Should we say hello?"

"Sure, let's show him how much we've missed him"

Kadaj grinned at that. He snapped his fingers and summoned up a few neo-crawlers.

"Go show brother how much we missed him"

They all roared demonically and ran for the building.

Kadaj longed back on the building.

"This will be interesting"

Sephiroth nodded.

"Yes it shall"

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"I need to talk to you about something" Cloud said.

He quickly turned to Mikomi.

"Could you wait outside for a moment? This is some private manners that need to be disused"

"No fair, I want to know what's going on!"

"_Quiet Usagi. He doesn't ask a lot from us, so do as he says"_

"Fine. But I wanted to know what was going on"

"_If he wanted us to know, then he would have let us stayed. Now stop complaining and let's go"_

"Fine. Meanie"

She walked out of the room. Rufus motioned for his Turks to follow suit before they got to the important things.

"I take it you want to know about Sephiroth?" The president asked.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't"

Rufus sighed.

"Nothing has come up yet. It seems he wants to keep a low profile for the moment. None of my Turks have spotted him or his remnants since that surveillance tape. I can't give you much info except that I have people all over the planet looking for this man. It won't be that hard since there aren't a lot of people with silver hair. I'll let you know when we find something"

"You better. We need all the help we can get to bring this monster down"

"If you're looking for help, just ask your friend, Mikomi" Rufus suggested. "I've seen her videos that Reeve made through Cat Sith. From what I've seen , she's a pretty capable fighter"

Cloud glared at him.

"You keep her out of this"

"What? I'm just making a suggestion. If you want help, then use her. I'm sure your friends would agree with me"

AVALANCE just gave him dirty looks.

"We are not bringing Mikomi into this" Tifa said. "Sephiroth hasn't done anything to her, so there's no point of getting her sucked into this"

Rufus just chuckled.

"He hasn't done anything to half of my Turks and they're still helping out. You don't have to have something happen to you in order to help. The fact that she's friends with you is reason enough to have her help out"

"The answer is no and that's final" Cloud snapped.

He didn't want to admit it, but he didn't want to see her get hurt. She was like a sister to him, and she shouldn't get into fights that weren't hers.

The sirens went off in the building. Something must have happened if they were going off. Tseng burst into the room with his uniform ripped in a few places and his arm bleeding.

"Sir! There are neo-crawlers everywhere! Sephiroth must be in the building somewhere!"

Rufus quickly went into action.

"Lock down the entire building. Make sure no one leaves or enters, and send it back up"

"There's no need to sir. That friend of Cloud is taking care of them"

"Huh?"

He walked out into the entrance of the building to see what was going on.

Mikomi was busy hacking away at the neo-crawlers that kept coming after her. She switched from using her sword to using any weapon that she had on her. Reno and Rude were close by and just shooted at the sorry bastards. It didn't seem to bother them since they kept going after them, even if they got hit.

Sighing in annoyance, she out her sword away and made some handsigns.

"Lighting whip!"

She made a whip entirely out of electricity and snapped it a few times. Her lighting whip was as good as Kakashi's lighting blade, if not even better. She could hit enemies in a wide range while he could hit only one at a time. She swung her whip around and hit a couple of the neo-shadows. They all zapped into dust and fell to the floor. She snapped her whip a few times to create an electrical charge before she went after some more. They just kept coming after her, one by one. There was no end to them.

"_Looks like I'll to use dad's jutsu"_

"Woo Hoo! The Yellow Flash has returned from the dead!"

Letting her whip disappear, she pulled out every single kunai knife that she held. She threw them all at the same time.

"_Let's just hope I didn't get rusty over the years"_

She started making handsigns at a speed unseen to the eye. Before anyone knew it, she was gone and repapering from various locations, Kunai flying at horribly fast speeds. It was hard to even catch up with the sight. Next thing they knew, all of the Neo-shadows were on the ground.

She landed gracefully on her feet as she finished her yellow flash. She grinned as she saw the monsters down for the count.

"_I hope I made you proud dad"_

She stood up and walked away from the mess. She wasn't going to pick it up.

She heard clapping as she walked away. Rufus applauded her as she came over to him and her friends.

"Marvelous work" he said. "Absolutely marvelous. I've never seen anything like that. It puts my Turks to shame"

She just shrugged at him. She didn't do anything fancy really. Yuffie pounced on her.

"That's my 'Komi-chan! Taking down bad guys without breaking a sweat!"

She just let her continue hugging her. If she didn't, she would get hugged even tighter.

"You truly are an extraordinary fighter" Rufus continued. "Your skills could be of great help to us"

Cloud glared at him. He knew what Rufus was planning and he didn't like it. And he told him no before.

"As you can tell, we're in a little jam" Rufus said. "There's this man named Sephiroth who happened to work with us a long time ago"

Mikomi knew who Sephiroth was. Cloud had told her stories about the man who killed Aerith and who almost destroyed the planet. He really creped her out, even if she didn't know what he looked like.

"Sephiroth has been causing us a lot of trouble lately, and we don't know how to get rid of him. Since you're such a gifted fighter, perhaps you could –"

"No thanks" She said suddenly.

Rufus was caught off guard.

"What?"

"I know what you're asking and the answer is no. You want me to help you fight Sephiroth so he won't be in your hair anymore. I'm flattered that you think I'm a skilled fighter, but I simply can't get involved in a fight that I have no connection with. Plus, Cloud would have asked for my help when he saw I could fight. I'm sorry, but I can't do that to my friends"

She bowed to him.

"Thank you for helping me figure out what my materia can do. Have a nice a day"

She walked away from them and went outside. She had no further business here, so she was going to wait for her friends to finish up.

Rufus was stunned. After seeing her in Reeve's surveillance videos, he thought that she would want to fight. He thought ninjas lived for battle, but he guessed he was wrong.

Yuffie patted him on the shoulder as she walked by.

"Better luck next time"

She ran after Mikomi, probably planning to make seating arrangements for the ride back. Cloud looked at him.

"That's why I said leave her out of this. She has no reason to fight with our battles"

He was mentally grateful that she declined. If she had said yes, then he would have given her a serious lecture on when you should and shouldn't help a friend out.

They all left Shin-Ra so they could go home. Since Rufus didn't have any valuable information on Sephiroth, then there was no point staying.

Mikomi refused to ride on Fenrir again. She almost fell off last time, and she didn't want to risk that again a second time. Instead, Reeve was nice enough to give them a ride in the Shadow Fox and bring them home without any trouble.

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"So it seems like brother made a new friend" Kadaj stated.

"So it would seem" Sephiroth said darkly. He grew curious about this little stranger that they ran into. She had managed to get rid of all of the Neo-Shadows that Kadaj had sent out. This was bad. If Cloud had friends that fought like this, then his plans would be ruined.

"I say we pay a little visit to Cloud's friend" A cruel smile spread across his lips.

Kadaj laughed wickedly.

"Wonderful. Just wait until Loz and Yazoo hear about this. They'll be so excited that we have a new toy to play with"

"Just remember not to break it right away. I want to see her beg for mercy"

Kadaj bowed to him.

"Whatever you say. Just don't hog all of the fun from us"

A black wing sprouted from Sephiroth's back.

"I hope that girl enjoys the dream she's living in. For tomorrow she'll awaken to the nightmare that is reality"

He shot off into the sky. The only thing he left was a single black feather.

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**A/N: Uh-Oh, looks like Sephiroth has something up his sleeve. Next chapter is where all of the action takes place! Hope you're ready for some Mikomi ass beating with a little help from Usagi. Sorry for the delay on this chap. But at least it's up.**

**Please send in those reviews, you know you want to.**

**Thank you to all of my fans who have stuck with me so far, you rock! And you get a cookie!**

**Ja ne**


	13. Battle Royale

Chapter 13: Battle Royale

**A/N: Ss, we've come to the very exciting chapter, or at least I think so. Everything changes at this point for everyone. I wonder how everyone will deal with it. Anyway, let's get on with the story. I'm sure everyone is waiting to see big, bad Sephiroth.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7, sadly. (Goes in a corner and cries)**

**And a special thanks to Bakuto Masaki, Sunakollx, and Kairis 12 for reviewing. (Anime cries) I have fans!**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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_Her eyes fluttered open when she woke up. Instead of seeing Denzel and Marlene's ceiling, she found herself looking at a canopy of trees. _

_She sat up and looked at the forest that she resided in. They all looked so familiar to her, as if she had been here before. She realized then that she was in one of the forests that were within Konoha._

"_I'm home!" _

_She stood up and started running through the trees._

"_I finally returned home!"_

_She stopped in her tracks._

"_Wait. Where is everyone?"_

_She looked to see if Cloud or any of her friends were with her. She found nothing but the trees._

"_Was it all just a dream?"_

_She caught sight of someone standing a few feet away from her. There back was turned to her, but one she saw the orange outfit, she knew who it was._

"_Naruto!"_

_She ran up to him and hugged him tightly._

"_Oh, Naruto. I've missed you so much!"_

_He didn't say anything. His head bowed down so she couldn't see his face._

"_Nee-chan? Is that you?"_

"_Of course it's me silly. Who else would it be?"_

_He laughed strangely._

"_Nee-chan…you're really back…it's been so long"_

"_I know, I'm so sorry I didn't come back sooner. I had so many things happen to me that I don't know where to start"_

"_Heh…I was starting to think that you left me"_

"_I could never leave you, Otoutou. You're my baby brother. I love you too much"_

""_Do you?...then why have you been gone for so long?"_

"_I told you, it's complicated. But now that I'm here, I'll tell you everythi-"_

_He shoved her harshly and sent her to the ground._

"_Don't lie to me!" He snapped. "You left me because I'm a monster didn't you? You couldn't stand that your brother carries the demon that attacked the village? You only see the nine tailed fox when you look at me, don't you!"_

_He looked at her finally to show his eyes were all weirded out. They were a deep maroon and were slitted to almost look like a pair of fox eyes. He grinned evilly to revile a toothy grin._

"_Don't you worry, Nee-chan. I'll make everything better"_

_He flexed his hand to have claws shoot out of his fingers._

"_I'll make all of the nightmares go away" _

_He slowly walked to her. She tried backing away, only to find herself have no control of it._

"_I'll make sure that we're never separated again"_

_His features started to change drastically into a fox, a very familiar fox._

"_I'll make sure that you'll never mistaken me for someone else again"_

_His face changed entirely into the nine tailed fox. He lifted his claw high over his head._

"_Let me take you to mom and dad, Nee-chan!" _

_He swung his hand down fast. She closed her eyes tightly and screamed her lungs out. The nine tailed fox laughed at her as she screamed._

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She woke with a start. Sweat covered her face as she looked at the bedroom she was in. She breathed heavily. She felt her heart racing in her chest.

"_It was just a dream?"_

She sighed in relief. That felt too real for her. She thought she would never see that face again, but she guessed that she was wrong. She had been terrified of the nine tailed fox since it attacked the village and took her father's life. She didn't think it was fair that her sweet, innocent brother had to harbor such an evil, vile creature. That was life for you.

She looked at the two beds that Denzel and Marlene were in. The two children were fast asleep in their own little worlds. Marlene held Pakkun close to her like he was a teddy bear. The poor pug had a pink ribbon tied to his head. He was at her mercy.

She smirked at them.

Her grin faltered a bit as she thought about her dream. Was it trying to tell her that something bad was going to happen? Was Naruto going to lose control over the nine tailed fox like last time? Was it trying to tell her that she needed to go home right away?

She looked at the Hansou materia that rested on her bedside table. Since she knew how to use it, then she could go home now. But she didn't if she should wait until she told everyone, or if she should just get up and go.

She picked it up and held it in her hand. It seemed to have a dull glow to it. Maybe it was starting to work since she knew what to do with it now.

Looking back at the kids, she slowly crawled out of bed. She silently put her shoes on so she wouldn't wake them up.

"_I know this is crazy, but I just want to see if this will really work"_

"This is stupid. You don't know what you're doing. Just wait for Cloud and he'll do it for you"

"_No. He's done enough for me. This is something that I have to do"_

Quietly, she tip-toed to the door.

"Where do you think you're going?"

She flinched when she heard Pakkun. She could have sworn that he was asleep.

"N-nowhere. I just wanted to get some fresh air"

"You're planning on using that materia, aren't you?"

She sweat dropped. Leave it to Pakkun to smell through a lie.

"Don't you think that's dangerous? You shouldn't be doing that by yourself"

She quickly tried to make up an excuse.

"I-I'm not going to use my materia. I was, just going out for a walk. I need to get some fresh air and have a look around"

"Don't play stupid with me, Mikomi. You're going to use that materia"

Her shoulders slumped.

"Maybe I am. But I just wanted to see if it really worked now. I promise I won't do anything, I swear"

She gave him the big puppy dog eyes that she was known for. Pakkun just sighed and cuddled close to Marlene.

"If anything happens, just flare your chakra and I'll come get you"

She grinned at him.

"Thanks Pakkun"

"Yeah, yeah"

She quickly tip toed to the stairs. She made sure that Cloud and Tifa were still asleep before she went down.

"_I know this is wrong, but I need to do this by myself. I can't let them do everything for me"_

She left the bar and started heading for the outskirts of town. If she wanted to find that forest, she had to start looking for trees and Edge didn't have any. Now she was going to play a round of looking for a needle in the haystack.

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Kadaj watched as Mikomi ran off in the outskirts. This too good to be true. She was running right into their trap, and she was all alone. This day couldn't get any better.

Looking at his brothers, he could tell that they were as excited as he was.

"Looks like our little lamb is on the run" he cooed.

"Looks like we'll be playing with her then" Loz said with glee. For a man of his height and age, he tended to have a mind of a child.

Yazoo just looked at him distastefully. He couldn't stand how the buffest of their group could act so childish.

"Should we follow her?"

"Of course" Kadaj said. "If we let her out of our sight, then we'll lose our fun"

"Shall I inform Sephiroth?"

He flinched at that name. He simply hated that man. It was obvious that Jenova favored him than the rest. He was the perfect child to her, doing whatever she said. He was just as good as him, maybe even better. He couldn't stand the fact that he had to be bossed around by his other half. He pretended to act loyal to him, but deep down, he was planning against him. He wasn't going to be outshined by some former General. He was old news and was of the past. He was new and had skills that Sephiroth would never dream of. If things went well, he would use Cloud's friend and have her kill Sephiroth that is if he didn't kill her first. Still, he gave Yazoo the order to contact Sephiroth. If he found out that they were fighting their new target without him knowing, then they would return to the planet faster than they could say 'Mako'.

He watched as Mikomi went into the outskirts that were once Midgar. He grinned evilly as he thought what was going to unfold.

"Look out little kitten. Kadaj has come to play"

He laughed as he walked away. His brothers following in his wake.

The chase was about to begin.

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Pakkun stared trough one of the windows. It was almost noon and Mikomi still wasn't back. He had to make up the excuse that she had a really bad nightmare and that she needed to clear her mind. It took a lot out of him just to make the others believe him, but so far they were going with it.

Tifa gave him his food. She was surprised that he could eat human food without getting sick, but being a ninja dog did have its advantages.

"Mikomi's not back yet?"

"No"

He munched on his omelet. He had admitted that Tifa was a great cook. She sighed as she looked out the window.

"She must have had a really bad dream if she's out for this long"

"She had a dream about the night her parents were killed" Pakkun lied.

"Poor thing"

She walked behind the counter and started preparing for the day. Pakkun sighed as he finished his breakfast. He just hoped that Mikomi would come back soon.

"_Mikomi, you better get back here soon before I have to find you"_

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"Achoo!"

Mikomi sniffled a bit. She rubbed her nose with the back of her hand. (A/N: how lady like)

"Pakkun must be talking about me. Damn mutt"

She sat on a cliff that looked over the valley. She could see Midgar off in the distance, or what was left of it.

Turning to her right, she gazed at the giant sword that was propped into the ground. Cloud had told her about his friend, Zack. He sacrificed his life just so Cloud could live. It reminded her of Obito. He gave up his life just so she and Kakashi could live. It was sad, but it showed how much he cared about her. He was her first real friend since Minato found her. She didn't know anyone from the village and was scared stiff. Then he came along and stuck with her since the day he died. He was a true friend. As she looked at the Buster Sword, she could tell that Zack was the same.

She silently said a prayer for the fallen SOLDIER.

_Zack. You and I haven't met, but I'm so thankful to you for saving Cloud's life. He's become an older brother to me, and would hate it if something bad happened to him. I promise to look after him for you, and I hope you're resting in peace._

She finished her prayer nicely and smiled to herself.

"That was beautiful" Usagi sniffled.

She sweat dropped at the fox's _reaction_.

"_It's wasn't that sappy, Usagi. You've been watching too many soap operas while I'm out of it, haven't you?"_

"N-no. I just bump into them when there's nothing else on. I have nothing to do when you sleep"

"_You're supposed to be sleeping as well"_

"I sleep all day! When you're out doing stuff, I have to stay locked up in my cell and do nothing but sleep. It gets boring after a while"

"_Quit whining"_

"I'm not whining. Whaaah!"

"_If it makes you feel better, I'll let you do whatever you want when we return home, ok?"_

"Yaaay!"

She sighed a Usagi's simple mindedness.

She looked up at the clouded sky. The skies were always cloudy since she came here. Not once has she seen the sun. It made this place so gloomy.

She fell on her back. She closed her eyes in thought. She was been searching for that forest for nearly two hours now and came up with nothing.

"_Not one lousy tree has shown up. What kind of place is this?"_

She looked at the sky.

"Send me a clue or something. I want to go home"

She felt something wet hit her face. It turned out to be someone's tongue. Sitting up in surprise, she saw it was a wolf that was licking her. She wiped of the slobber from her face.

"Where did you come from?"

The wolf just waged his tail at her. His tongue hanged off the side of his mouth in a dog like fashion. She had to admit, he was a beautiful looking animal. He had dark grey hair that covered his body and had the most beautiful blue eyes she had ever seen. It didn't help either that wolves were her favorite animals.

She couldn't help herself from petting him. He was too cute.

"You're such a cutie"

The wolf leaned into the touch and thumped his foot happily. When she stopped, he would lick her face for her to continue.

She scratched him behind the ears.

"_Aww, I wanna keep him"_

"Now, Mikomi. You know better to pick up a wild animal"

"_He's not wild, he's fully tamed. Plus you should talk since you're a wild animal"_

"That's not the point. The point is that you have things to do and it does not involve adopting animals"

She sighed. Usagi had a point.

She gave the wolf one last pat before she stood up.

"Sorry, little guy. I have to get going now; I need to find this glowing forest"

She walked away from her furry friend. The wolf ran in front of her and started barking.

"I'm sorry, but I can't play"

He ran in the opposite direction and continued barking at her. When she didn't move he started pulling on her pants.

"I think he wants you to follow him"

"_You mean that a wolf knows where I want to go?"_

"Do you know where I want to go? Is that what you're telling me?"

He barked again and started jumping.

"I take that as a yes"

"_So...we're getting directions from a wolf? That's a first. But dad said to be grateful for what you can get"_

"Alright. Lead the way then"

The wolf licked her hand and started walking away. She followed behind her furry navigator. Wait until everyone heard about this.

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Kadaj followed her as she went. He had been tailing her since she ran out into the outskirts. He was far away where she wouldn't see him, but was close enough to where he could see her. He grinned when he saw where she was going.

"The Forgotten Capital, huh?"

The last time he was there was when he lured all of the sick children there to activate the Geostigma within them. And it was where he first fought Cloud. This was quite a coincidence. To have his prey lured within the same area was too good to be true.

He jumped within the white trees as he reached the forest. He could sense his brothers were here too. HE was even here.

"That party is about to begin"

He laughed wickedly. Pulling out his Souba, he jumped from the trees and motioned for his brothers to follow. Both appeared next to him with their weapons drawn.

"Let's have some fun, shall we?"

They all had an identical evil grin upon their faces and they slowing followed Mikomi.

This would not go well.

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The moment she stepped into the forest, she knew where she was. The white trees were a dead giveaway. The whole forest seemed to be enchanted in a way. Almost like something you would find in a storybook. Everything about this place made her feel at ease.

The wolf leads her to a small lake. She looked at her reflection for a moment. Even the water here made her look relaxed.

She turned to her furry friend and scratched his head.

"Thanks buddy. I owe you one"

He licked her hand. After one last pat, he went off to who knows where.

She looked at the spot that he was once at before fishing out her materia.

"_Let's see if this actually works"_

Looking at the orb, she saw it slowly start to glow. It turned to the same shade of green from when it brought her here. She quickly put it away before it could do anything else could happen.

"At least we know that it works"

"_Yeah"_

"We might as well head back before Pakkun gets worried"

"_Yeah. That dog doesn't need any more problems"_

She went to take a step but stopped. She sadly looked at the ground.

"What's wrong, 'Komi-chan?"

"_Is this...is this really happening?"_

"What are you talking about?"

"_Is this really going to be the last time that I stay here on this world? Will I never return?"_

"I'm sure you can come back. Everyone likes you so I don't see why that it's a problem"

"_I don't know why but… I feel like everything is going to turn bad at this point. Like, if I leave, I'll just regret it"_

"You're just thinking to seriously. Think about something positive and nothing will go wrong"

"_Does that really work?"_

"No, but my stupid friends believe it"

"_Oh…that does sound nice"_

Usagi sweat dropped at her idiotness.

"Anyway, let's head on back and have some of Tifa's cooking. I'm so hungry that I could eat Gamabunta"

"_You're always hungry, Usagi"_

"Hey, I need a hobby, and mine is eating new foods"

"_Whack job"_

A twig snapping caught her attention. Grabbing her sword, she saw Kadaj and his brothers come in the clearing.

"Well, what do we have here? A lovely young lady all alone in a forest. Now isn't that just tragic?'

Kadaj pulled out his Souba out and pointed it at her.

"Now boys, don't you the gentlemen thing to do would be to escort this lady back to her home. We can't have her running around by herself. You never know what kind of …danger lurks at every corner"

She took a step back from them. These guys were bad news, she just knew it.

"What's the matter, lady?" Loz asked 'innocently'. "Don't you want us to help you?"

"We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you" Yazoo added.

She just kept walking back slowly. Never taking her eyes off of them.

"AS much as I appreciate the offer…I'm afraid that I'll have to refuse"

"Oh dear. It breaks my heart to hear that" Kadaj gripped his heart tragically. "She doesn't trust us"

"You got that right" She said. "You just reek of bad news"

Kadaj grinned evilly.

"That's too bad"

He hung his head.

"And my brothers and I thought that we would be able to play"

He charged at her with ungodly speed.

"With your head!"

She blocked his sword with hers. Sparks fell as metal hit against metal.

"You seem like a fun person, so why not play with us?"

She pushed him away and ran off.

"No thanks!"

Loz blocked her path. Charging up his Dual Hound, he slammed it into the ground, causing it to explode up in the air.

She quickly jumped out of the way, only to get caught b Yazoo and his Velvet Nightmare. She blocked the bullets with her sword. If there was one thing she was grateful of Vincent, it was that he showed her how to dodge bullets.

She flashed stepped and went to cut his head off. He jumped on her sword and fired at her again. She flipped out of the way and made a few handsigns.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"

She sent a melee of fire balls at him. He tried dodging them all, but ended up getting burnt badly in the process. He fell down like a ton of bricks and never got up.

Loz charged at her, his Dual Hound charging with electricity. She ducked as he aimed for her head and did her next move.

"Earth Style: Great Dark Swamp!"

He sunk into the mud and struggled to get out. Mikomi took this opportunity and hit him in the head. His face fell into the mud and made bubbles in the brown goo.

Kadaj came out of nowhere and started fighting with her. It was a combo of sword fighting and hand to hand combat. He matched her every move and landed a few hits to her.

"_He's a lot stronger than his bothers. Taking him down is going to be a challenge"_

She performed another set of handsigns.

"Water Style" Water Dragon Jutsu!"

A giant dragon shot out of the water. It went after Kadaj and tried to bite his head off. Kadaj just used his Souba and destroyed the beast.

"Is that the best you can do?" He taunted.

Mikomi cursed inwardly. This guy was tough, she had to admit. But there was no way that she was going to lose to some brat.

Flaring up her chakra, she prepared herself for her greatest attack. She didn't master it yet, but she was running out of options.

"_Pakkun" _She thought as she made the handsigns. "_You better get here quick"_

She finished the signs and looked at Kadaj darkly.

"You wanna play?" She asked as she held her sword. "Then let's have some fun!"

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Pakkun's fur bristled when he felt Mikomi's chakra.

"_I should have known that she would get into trouble. She's magnet for it"_

Looking around, he made sure no one watched him as he crwaled to the front door.

"_Remember, Pakkun. Think like a mighty hunter staking its prey. Make no utter movements. Make no sound. Blend within your surroundings and target your prey"_

"What are you doing, Pakkun?"

The pug fell over his own feet.

"_So much for mighty hunter"_

He glanced at Tifa over his shoulder.

"_Think cute"_

He gave her the biggest puppy face that he could manage.

"Oh, just going out to do some doggy stuff. You know how we dogs are"

"Oh, well don't take too long then, I'm sure Mikomi will want to see you when she gets back"

"_She'll see me alright"_

Cloud walked in from doing another delivery. Pakkun took this as the perfect opportunity to go unnoticed. Slowly, the tip toed to the door.

Cloud sat on one of the stools. Tifa handed him a drink, which he gladly accepted. After taking a few sips he finished his drink. He looked around the bar to find Mikomi still gone. Denzel and Marlene were the only occupants, aside from Tifa.

"Mikomi's not back yet?"

Tifa shook her head.

"No. It's kind of strange though. She usually tells us where she's at instead of just going off like this. I wonder what she's doing."

"She's looking for some forest" Marlene said over her coloring.

Pakkun froze in his tracks as he heard this.

Cloud and Tifa looked at the young girl.

"What do you mean looking for a forest?"

"I heard her talking to Pakkun earlier that she was going to go look for this forest. Said it might help her return to her world"

Pakkun was sweating bullets.

"_Oh, god. She was up? This is bad, very bad"_

Cloud and Tifa slowly looked at the pug that was half way out the door. He laughed nervously as they gave his very serious looks.

"Eh… See ya!"

He zoomed out of the bar super fast. He ran as fast as he could.

"_Legs, don't fail me now!"_

You would think that someone of his size would be slow, oh no, Pakkun was like a road runner. He could run at the speed of light and could beat even the fastest Shinobi's. Those were one of the up sides to having the Yellow Flash's daughter as a master.

He was grinning ear to ear as he ran.

"_Woo Hoo. Nothings gonna stop me!" _He sang in his head.

A giant sword fell into his path and made him skid to a stop. Cloud came over on his bike with Tifa on the back. He picked up his sword, as well as the little pug.

Pakkun was in panic mode right now.

"_Calm down. You can think of an excuse to get you out of this. Just act cool and they won't notice anything is up"_

"Uh, Hey Cloud, Tifa. What's up?"

"Don't play dumb with me dog, I'm not in the mood" Cloud said.

"Why did you suddenly leave like that, Pakkun?" Tifa asked.

"Oh, you know, I really had to go bad and I couldn't hold it any longer"

"Don't lie to us. You were going off somewhere"

He gulped as he looked into Cloud's eyes. They were so scary when he looked serious.

"That's ridiculous. Why would I be running off?" He laughed innocently.

"Maybe because of the fact that Marlene told us where Mikomi really is"

"You can't possibly believe a little kid"

"Marlene never lies, so out with it, where's Mikomi and what's going on?"

He looked away from his gaze. If he continued to look into them, he knew he would crack.

"I-I don't have to tell you anything. I was just going out to see what was taking Mikomi so long, then coming back. It's no big deal really. She's not in grave danger or anything of that sort"

"I never asked if she was in danger"

He quickly covered his mouth with his paws. He blew it.

"Is Mikomi in trouble?" Tifa asked worriedly.

"Err. I don't know" Pakkun shrugged. " She could be just doing it to be a little drama queen or something. It's nothing really, so I'm just gonna check and go back to the bar. I'll see you there, so bye-bye"

Cloud plopped him on his bike and started it up.

"Since it's no big deal, we'll go with. We know where to go and it'll be faster"

"You don't have to do that, really"

"If it'd no big deal, then why are you trying so hard to get rid of us?"

"I just know that Mikomi would be upset that I got you involved into something so simple, she'd never let me hear the end of it"

"Well you'll just have to bear with it 'cause we're almost there"

Pakkun had anime tears streaming from his face.

"_Please, Mikomi. Don't get mad at me for this. I tried. You'll just have to explain everything to them when we find you"_

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Kadaj collapsed to the ground. That jutsu Mikomi used did the trick. She nearly used up all of her chakra,

But it did the trick. She smirked triumphantly when she saw Kadaj tried to get up. It was useless now

She cautiously walked over to his fallen form. As she drew near, she pulled out her sword. She pressed

The tip of the blade to his neck.

"Looks like out little game is over"

She grew surprised when she saw him smirk.

"Actually" He said. "It's only begun"

"What?"

"Mikomi! Behind you!"

She whipped around to find herself blocking a very long blade. When she looked up at the wielder, she

paled. Sephiroth grinned wickedly at her. He flung her into a tree with a swing of his Masamune. She

coughed up a bit of blood from impact. She looked at Sephiroth. She felt a murderous aura sounding

him. The look in his eyes made her skin crawl. Now she knew why Cloud was so against letting her fight

him. She had met many kinds of scary people as a ninja, but he was a whole different kind of scary. He

glided over to her and pressed his blade to her throat, much like how she did with Kadaj only moments

ago.

"So… you're the newest member of Cloud's group?" he asked. "How pathetic"

She quickly got out of the way before he could slice her throat. She went at him and attacked with her

sword in hand.

"From your looks, I take it you're Sephiroth?"

"Heh… so he's told you about me, how sweet"

He clashed swords with her and sent her flying again. She managed to land on her feet before she could

smash into a tree again.

"I never thought that I would have to face you. It wasn't my intention to get involved with Cloud's battles" She said to herself.

She held her sword up for another attack.

"But if you're planning on fighting me, then I guess that I have no choice but to comply"

Sephiroth grinned at that.

"Very well then. Since you don't wish to fight, then I'll just have to kill you quickly"

She flashed stepped and caught him by surprise.

"Not interested"

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Cloud weaved through the trees that made up the forest. Pakkun gave up on convincing on sending them home and just gave them directions. He sniffed the air for her scent and found more than just hers.

"I sense four more people with her. Judging by their smells, they aren't friendly"

Cloud gripped on the handle bars in a death grip. There were only four people in this world that were bad news.

"He's here" he hissed.

Tifa panicked.

"Sephiroth?"

"Yeah. I can feel him"

He speed up and went faster.

Pakkun tried to feel Mikomi's chakra, only to barely feel it. Instead, he could sense Usagi's.

"_This is bad. If we don't make it then Usagi is going to show and she's always in a bad mood when someone hurts Mikomi"_

He prayed that Cloud would go faster before his master lost control.

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She held back a scream as he plunged his sword into her shoulder. Cuts littered her body from his attacks. She was a bloody mess from her cuts to her torn outfit. She tried to regain her breath from being slammed into a tree for the hundredth time. Using all of the strength that she could muster, she pulled his sword out.

Sephiroth merely laughed as he saw her struggle to stand. She knew she wasn't going to last long. She knew the smart thing to do would be to run. But the stubborn streak made her stay.

"_If Cloud could face him, then so can I"_

Images of Naruto suddenly flashed through her head. She held her head in pain.

"_But if I face him, I'll probably die and I'll never see Naruto again"_

Usagi scolded her.

"He would rather see you die as a hero than run away as a coward. You have your honor as a Shinobi to fulfill. Your father didn't run away when the nine tailed fox attacked us, so why should you?"

She knew that she was right. She couldn't let her father down. She had to make him proud and face her enemies like a true ninja.

She weakly gripped her sword.

"_I know I can't hold out much longer, but at least I'll die as a hero. Watch me, dad"_

She charged at him, only to have him swat her away like a fly. He was starting to get annoyed that she wouldn't die.

"Why won't you die?"

Blood dripped from her mouth as she smirked.

"Because" She struggled to her feet. "I never go back on my word….I never give up….that's my …ninja way…and I'm ….sticking to…it"

Her head collided with a tree once again. Everything went black.

"_So this is it, huh? Oh well, at least I made some friends. I'm sorry I broke my promise to you, Naruto"_

Sephiroth hovered over her fallen body.

"Do yourself a favor and stay down. You held out longer than I expected, but it ends here"

He held his Masamune high over his head.

Usagi was in panic mode.

"Mikomi! Mikomi!'

She never said anything. The fox sighed wearily.

"Mikomi" She said sadly. "Forgive me for what I'm about to do"

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Cloud skidded to a halt as they reached her. Tifa's face paled when she saw her friend's current state.

"Mikomi!"

Sephiroth looked at them and grinned. He had a feeling that Cloud would come and was glad that he did. Now he could break him once more.

"Care to see another one of your friends die?"

He didn't wait for an answer as he went to drive his sword down. Cloud jumped off his bike and went to attack him.

Everything was in slow motion. Everyone anticipated for sound of metal piercing flesh to ring in the air. Instead, they heard the collective gasp of Sephiroth.

Everyone watched Mikomi as she engulfed in red chakra. Her hand clutching the sword inches away from her body, no blood to be seen. The cuts from her body had healed. She lifted her head to revel deep red eyes that were slightly silted. She twisted the sword end in her hand, breaking it off.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes and jumped into a tree away from her. He watched as the chakra started to form around her body.

It was taking shape now, the chakra over her hands turned onto what appeared to be paws, the chakra on her head spiking out the back to form ears. She put a hand on her knee, pushing herself into a standing position, a hand on the tree to steady herself. The red chakra was now almost completely formed. They could clearly tell it was the head and body of a fox, but the tail was still forming. The tail bubbled out from behind. It fully formed, swaying back and forth like a cobra.

She lifted her head, her eyes glaring at Sephiroth.

"It'll take a lot more than a sword to kill me" She growled at him.

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Cloud and Tifa were at a loss for words. They didn't know what to make out of the situation that they were witnessing. They had never seen Mikomi act like this, and now they were slightly afraid. It was like they were seeing a completely different person.

Pakkun started to back up. He knew things were about to get ugly.

"Get back! Now!"

They did as he told and got to a safe distance. "What's going on?" Tifa asked frantically. "What's happened to Mikomi?"

They covered their faces when the red chakra started to radiate off them.

Cloud looked at Mikomi. So much bloodlust could be seen in her eyes.

"_Mikomi" _he thought. "_What are you?"_

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Mikomi was growling like an animal, down on all fours and glaring heavily up at Sephiroth. The tension in the air was thick, so thick it was hard to breathe. No one moved, no one blinked, no one breathed for the briefest moment of silence that swept the clearing.

Then Mikomi disappeared.

Sephiroth's eyes widened and he brought his broken sword up in front of him just in time to block Mikomi's claws from mortally wounding him. Her fingernails had actually grown to claw length, her incisors growing to become fangs. Mikomi smirked and broke off more of Sephiroth's sword, swiping at him with her other hand. Only many years as being a SOLDIER saved his life, but he still got a deep gash in his chest, bleeding freely. Mikomi charged after him as he jumped down from the tree, leaping onto him and kicking him in the jaw, sending him back a couple of meters. She then ran up and swiped at him, which he dodged, but he didn't see the tail aimed for his side. He slammed into a tree hard and a resounding crack echoed across the clearing. Sephiroth had broken a rib. He panted. Looked up at his opponent who was down on all fours again, growling deep within her throat. She walked forward calmly, confidence and bloodlust radiating from her. She looked even more like an animal in the heat of battle, slashing, seeking her opponent's blood. Everyone watched as she moved in for the kill, raising her hand to dig the claws into Sephiroth's neck, draining the life from his body.

As Mikomi was about deal the final blow, Kadaj came into view and blocked her with Souba. She growled when Loz and Yazoo picked up Sephiroth.

He slowly lifted his head to look at her. The chakra receding from her body as she calmed down.

"I'll be back" he growled.

Loz and Yazoo quickly carried him away.

Kadaj grinned evilly. He was mad that he lost to her, but was glad that Sephiroth got a worse beating from her. Now he was interested in her.

"Don't think that this is over" He warned. "We'll be back soon"

He followed after his brothers, leaving her behind.

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Usagi smiled. Another close call. She was still in control but she decided that she had enough fun for one day.

"At least Mikomi's safe" She thought.

She turned around and spotted Cloud and Tifa. She felt her blood run cold.

"Oh, crap"

She didn't realize that they were here. Looks like their secret was out. She looked at Pakkun and handed him the Hansou Materia.

"You know what to do" She told the pug.

She slowly went back into her cell.

"Wait!"

Tifa walked over to her slowly. She didn't know what to make of her, but she knew that she was harmless.

"Who…are you?"

Usagi cracked a grin at her. She had to admit that Tifa had guts to face her up close, but sadly it was short lived.

"If you want to know, then ask the pug. All I can tell you is that I'm a friend"

She went back into her cell and let Mikomi regain control of her body. Still out of it from being hit by Sephiroth, she fell forward. Tifa caught her and held her close. She looked at her for a moment then looked at Pakkun.

The pug nervously looked at the ground as she and Cloud stared at him.

"Um… I take it you want to know what happened."

"That would be obvious" Cloud said dryly.

The pug gulped as he looked at them. There was no point hiding the truth now. They saw too much.

"_Please don't hate me for this, Mikomi"_

"You remember that story Mikomi told about how her father died trying to save the village?"

"Yeah"

"And that he had to use two children as sacrifices?"

"Yeah"

"Take a wild guess at who those two kids were"

Tifa's eyes went wide.

"You mean…they were…"

Pakkun nodded grimly.

"His own children. Mikomi and Naruto Uzumaki"

A hand flew over Tifa's mouth.

Pakkun sadly looked at the ground.

"Their father didn't have much of a choice. As Hokage, he had to protect everyone in the village. He couldn't just use any child, that would make him look like a bad Hokage, so he used his own kids instead. He used his adoptive daughter and new born son as hosts for two killer demons"

He played with the Hansou Materia like it was a chew toy. He couldn't look them in the eye at the moment. He was too afraid that he would see the same looks that the villagers gave his master when they saw her. It was too painful to watch.

"Why didn't she say anything to us?" Cloud finally spoke.

Pakkun gave the blonde a skeptical look.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe she's been rejected so many times and that she didn't to see that from the people that she considered as her first real friends"

"But, Vincent is like her, and we accept him" Tifa stated.

"It's a natural reaction to her. She's always afraid that people will reject her just because she's a Jinchuriki. She's not used to positive attention"

Tifa brushed the hair out of Mikomi's eyes. She looked at Cloud to see what his reaction would be to all of this.

The blonde didn't say anything. He just looked at Mikomi for a moment before looking at Pakkun.

The pug looked at him as well.

"Well? What do want to do now that you know the truth?"

Cloud didn't say anything. He just picked up Mikomi's materia and put it in his pocket.

He looked at her one more time and shrugged.

"I've seen worse" he said.

Tifa smiled.

"So what if Mikomi has a demon inside her? She's still our friend no matter what"

Pakkun looked at them surprised.

"You mean…you're not afraid or repulsed?"

"Nobody's perfect" Tifa said. "Just look at us"

"She's a nice person, we know she wouldn't hurt anyone" Cloud added.

Pakkun grinned at them.

"Well…at least Mikomi has some friends that she can trust"

Tifa nodded.

"Yes she does"

Cloud went back on Fenrir.

"Let's take her home so she can rest up"

Tifa picked her up and placed her in between herself and Cloud so she wouldn't fall off. Pakkun sat in front in Cloud's lap.

"Lead the way then"

He started up his bike and took off. Pakkun's tongue hanged out of his mouth as he enjoyed the ride.

A tear slipped from Mikomi's eye as they headed home. Usagi silently cried.

"Cloud. Tifa. Thank you"

As they left the forest, they failed to notice that someone was watching them.

The wolf from before had saw what had happened from a safe distance. He grinned as he watched Cloud and Tifa take Mikomi with them. He walked off and vanished from thin air. He would be back to see what happened next.

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**A/N: And there you have it, Sephiroth and the Remnants made their appearance. And they also got their asses kicked. I didn't mean to make them seem weak, but they didn't know what to expect from Mikomi so they weren't taking her seriously, but I'm sure everyone liked seeing Sephiroth get his ass kicked. So now Mikomi's secret is out. At least Cloud and Tifa don't mind, but how will the rest handle it? You'll just have to find out in the next chapter. **

**Please send me your reviews if you thought this chapter was any good. If you do, I'll give you a cookie.**

**Thank you very much for your support, it means dearly to me.**

**Until then, **

**Ja ne**


	14. It's ok

Chapter 14: It's ok

**A/N: here we are with the next chapter. How will Mikomi react when she learns that her friends know about her secret? Will she have a breakdown? Will she cry herself silly? Who knows, we'll just have to watch and find out. **

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I still don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. Tetsuya Nomura and Masashi Kishmoto are a bunch of lucky bastards. (Cries)**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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When she woke up, she found herself in her bed, face down. Confusion came across her face as she recalled being in the forest fighting against Sephiroth. Her eyes suddenly went wide.

"_Sephiroth!"_

"Relax, Mikomi" Usagi said. "I took care of him"

"_You….what?"_

"I took care of him_" _She repeated. "You were out cold, so I took care of him for you. Plus, you were in pretty bad shape to begin with"

Mikomi sighed.

"_Normally I wouldn't be happy with this, but since you saved my life then I'll let it slide. Thanks"_

"No problem. That's what I'm here for"

"_So…did get him good"_

''Oh, yeah. I broke that pretty sword of his and gave him a few cuts. He's going to be scared for life!" 

"_Brutal as always. At least that problem is out of the way. I don't know how I'm going to explain this to Cloud though"_

"Wellll…. You don't have to really"

"_Huh?"_

"He and Tifa saw the whole fight"

Mikomi felt her heart stop.

"_When you mean whole fight , do you mean…"_

"Everything "

She nearly forgot to breath. Her secret was out and she wasn't awake when it happened.

"_Oh my god, they know. What am I going to do?"_

"Relax. They're completely fine with it"

"_What makes you say that? How can you know that it's ok?"_

"Maybe because I was awake and I heard what they said. If you don't believe me, then go talk to them yourself".

Gulping down her nerves, she got off her bed and slowly went downstairs.

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She could hear Tifa cleaning some glasses. She was hoping she wouldn't be here but remembered that she lived here. Slowly walking down, she found Cloud and Tifa in the bar.

Tifa looked up from her work and spotted her.

"Oh, Mikomi!"

She ran over to her and gave her a tight hug.

"Thank Gaia that you're alright. We were so worried about you"

She didn't know what to do but to accept her hug. She was beyond confused. Shouldn't she be afraid of her?.

Tifa let her go and held her by the shoulders.

"Why were you out in the Forgotten Capital? We were so worried about you"

She looked at her feet.

"I …I wanted to see if that would lead me back to my home" she said softly. "How did you know to find me?"

"Pakkun told us" Cloud said.

The said pug was hiding from his master. If she saw him, he was going to turn into some hot dogs.

"We were wondering what was taking you so long so we asked him"

Mikomi avoided his gaze. She didn't want to see the look in his eyes.

"So you ran into Sephiroth?"

She flinched at the name. She he would be furious that she faced him, but she really didn't have a choice.

"By accident" she said. "I didn't mean to fight him, it just happened"

"You know that you could have been killed. You should have waited for us to go with you"

"I didn't want to feel like a burden to you. This was something that I had to take care of myself and I didn't want to ask a lot from you"

"That was pretty stupid"

Her shoulders slumped. She felt like she was being lectured from her dad.

Tifa tried to ease the tension.

"Go easy on her, Cloud. At least she's alive"

"Maybe, but that still doesn't change the fact that she left without telling anyone where she was going and the fact that she fought Sephiroth by herself"

She bit her lip nervously. Now she had to face the ugly truth.

"So…do you know…about my secret?"

They both nodded.

She felt her heart dropped. She should have known that this would happen.

Tifa hugged her again.

"Why didn't you tell us?"

She felt herself trembling from her nerves. She didn't know what to expect from them.

"That's something that I wouldn't want to brag about" She said. " Nobody would want to listen that I carry one of the demons that nearly destroyed my village, and killed my dad"

She felt tears pool up in her eyes.

"How can I explain to anyone that I'm the reason that my dad is no longer alive? How do I tell you guys that I hold a deadly monster and I have no control over it? How do I explain that without getting rejected from everyone?"

She felt the tears run down her face. Tifa held her closer. She rubbed her back like a mother would to her child.

"You should have told us, Mikomi. You know that we're friends with Vincent and he hold Chaos in him"

"I know that" she choked. "But I was afraid of being rejected. I've been shunned so many times that I've lost count. Nobody in my village will look at me without sending me a dirty look. I just didn't want to face that with the people that I considered to be friends"

She started to sob quietly. She almost felt like she was nine again and had everyone in the village hate her. She could see herself curled up in a ball and crying her eyes out, having Yuri holding her and telling her it was ok when it wasn't. It hurt so much than she couldn't stand it.

Tifa held her still and stroked her hair. She could feel her shirt get damp from the tears that fell. She didn't realize how serious this was until now. She saw a young girl terrified out of her mind because she thought they would reject her. It broke her heart.

"It's ok, Mikomi" she said softly. " We would never think that way with you"

She led her to the booth that Cloud was sitting at and sat across from him.

"You shouldn't worry about things like that. We love you just the way you are. We would never think lowly of you like that"

She wiped the Kunoichi's tears away.

"Nobody's perfect. We all have some sort of flaw that we have to deal with. So what if you have a demon? Vincent does too and we love him the way that he is. That just makes you unique, you have skills that no one else does. Just because you have this little flaw doesn't mean that we won't love you anymore"

She gave her another hug.

"We love no matter what, that will never change"

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Mikomi couldn't stop the tears from falling. It felt so nice to be loved and be accepted. Now she knew why Tifa became her best friend. She was so understanding.

But just because she accepted her didn't mean that she had nothing to worry about, there was still Cloud.

She nervously looked at the blonde from where she was sitting. She was worried the most about his reaction to all of this. She didn't know if he was ok with this or if he was against it.

He looked at her with those ice blue eyes. It was hard to tell what he was thinking. He didn't say anything for a while, which bothered her a great deal.

Suddenly, he reached over and ruffled her hair in a brotherly manner. He messed up her hair but she didn't seem to mind.

She looked at him, surprised by his reaction. He never did that to anyone. Not even to Denzel or Marlene. He had a small grin appear on his face.

"You're still you, no matter what" he said. "Nothing will change that"

His face grew suddenly serious.

"But if you run off like that again, I will seriously hurt you, understand?"

She nodded like an idiot.

"You don't mind about my…secret?"

He shrugged.

"I've seen worse. You're harmless anyway"

She broke into a grin for the first time since she came down. They didn't care about her secret. They didn't mind that Usagi resided in her. They were fine with it. She never knew anyone like that except Yuri and Kakashi.

She felt tears pool up in her eyes again.

"Thank you" she sobbed.

Tifa rubbed her back.

She wiped the tears that fell from her eyes. Pakkun was even tearing up at this.

"_Cloud. Tifa"_ He thought. _"Thank you for coming into her life"_

He had a feeling that if Minato or Kushina were here, that they would be crying too.

"_You're daughter is being taken care of, Minato. You don't have to worry anymore"_

Mikomi grinned through her tears as she basked into this moment. This had to be the happiest moment of her life. She was finally accepted by someone that was more than what she could ask for.

Up in the heavens, Minato and Kushina were crying as they watched over their daughter. They were so glad that she found friends who would accept her. Their wish came true. All that was left was Naruto, but that was a different story.

For now, it was all about Mikomi and her friends.

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**A/N: Sorry that this was a sort chapter, but it's kind of filler for the next one. I nearly cried as I wrote this one. Mikomi finally has caring friends. And what a better group than AVALANCE? I wonder how the others will react. We'll just have to find out.**

**See you until next time,**

**Ja ne**


	15. Friends till the end

Chapter 15: Friends till the end

**A/N: here's the last part to part one. Next chapter will be the start of part two. Now let's enjoy the last part of this arch while we can. But never fear, the next arch will be filled with more adventure than the first one. Now let's see what will happen next.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7, deal with it.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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The others found out the next day. It took a lot out of her to say everything without breaking down. Luckily Cloud and Tifa helped her out and said the things that were too much for her. She was so nervous about how everyone would react. She didn't if they would understand or if they would be against it. She wanted them as her friends, but she wanted them to accept her for who she was.

They all supported her in their own ways.

Yuffie just gave her one of her famous bear hugs.

"You're still 'Komi-chan to me! And I like foxes!"

Barret ruffled up her hair like he usually did.

"It's not your fault. But if you're dad were still alive, I would slug him. That's bad parenting right there, no matter what the situation is"

Cid just acted like it wasn't serious.

"As long as it doesn't affect your gambling, then I have no problem with it"

Cat Sith and Red Xlll supported her.

"You're still you, Mikomi. We wouldn't want you any other way"

Vincent was the most supportive. He didn't show it, but she could tell from the look in his eyes that he understood her pain. He even gave her a hug, which was something he normally didn't do.

Needless to say, they were still her friends.

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She was planning on returning home the next day. She figured that since she knew how to get home now that she should head back. Tifa heard of this and refused to let her leave. She claimed that she was still injured from her fight and that she should rest up a bit. She tried telling her that she healed faster than any normal human and that she was fine, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. So she was to stay for another week in Gaia. At least it would be an interesting week.

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_Day 1_

She sat in at one of the tables that filled the bar. It was closed today, so she didn't have to help out. Barret was over to help Cloud out with his bike. He wanted a tune up or add something to it.

Denzel and Marlene came down with a ball in hand.

"Onee-chan, do you want to play?"

She looked at them nervously. They knew about Usagi too, but she didn't know if Barret would want her to play with his daughter.

Barret came in with some sort of part in his hand.

"Is it ok if I play with Marlene?"

She knew she sounded stupid asking that, but she wanted to make sure he was fine with having a Jinchuriki around his daughter.

He gave her a look as if she said something stupid. (A/N: which she did)

"What kind of question is that? Of course you can, you always do"

She bit her lip.

"You mean…you don't mind her being near a Jinchuriki?"

Her answer was a knock on the head. She rubbed the bump that was starting to form on her head.

"Go have fun before I knock some sense into that head if yours" He threatened.

She quickly went outside before she got hit by Barret again.

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They all played soccer out in front. They would just kick it to each other.

"So…you have an animal inside of you?" Marlene asked as she passed the ball to Denzel.

"Yeah" Mikomi said as she received the ball. "It's a fox"

"What's its name?" Denzel asked.

"Her name is Usagi"

"Doesn't that mean rabbit?"

"Yeah, and you want to know what the funny part is?"

"What?"

"She's afraid of rabbits"

The two children started laughing. She cracked a grin herself.

"How dare they make fun of me?"

"_Relax, they're kids"_

"I think that's kind of cool that you have an animal" Denzel said. "If it were me, I would have I tiger"

"I would have a bunny!" Marlene said.

"Why you little!"

"_Easy"_

"Does Naruto have one?"

"Yeah. He has a fox too. His isn't really nice though"

"_It was the one that attacked the village"_

Denzel bounced the ball off his head.

"So… does Usagi come out at all?"

"Only if I'm in real danger or if I run low on chakra. She looks after me"

"Well, that's good. At least you have an animal that looks after you" Marlene said.

"Yeah, that is a good thing; otherwise I would be dead by now from all of the battles I've been through"

The three of them continued to play until they were told to come in. It was nice knowing that the kids weren't afraid of her. But, if they hung around Vincent, then she guessed that they were used to scary things.

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_Day 2_

Cid came over for a beer. He seemed to be in high spirits for some reason. Mikomi never saw act like this.

"Is something up, Cid?"

The pilot grinned at her.

"Sure is. I finally finished fixing up my airship and it's ready for a test run"

She tilted her head to the side.

"Air ship?"

"Yep. The best damn one on the planet. Nothing can beat my _Shera._"

That didn't help her understand what an airship was.

"What does an air ship do?"

"It flies of course. What else would it do?"

"I don't know, I've never seen one"

Cid's face grew grim.

"You mean to tell me that you've never seen an air ship?"

She shook her head.

"Well, how the heck to get around in your world?!"

She shrugged.

"We have a few vehicles, but for the most part, we walk"

He didn't say anything. The look on his face was unreadable.

Suddenly, he got up and pulled her outside. She was beyond confused at this point and didn't know what to make of Cid's reaction.

"This is unacceptable" He said. "Never been on an air ship. That's like a sin to me"

Cloud drove up to the bar form a delivery he finished. He was as confused as Mikomi with Cid.

"What's going on?"

The pilot looked at him.

"She's never been on an air ship before!"

"Ok and you're acting like this because?"

"It's not right! I'm going to show her what's she's been missing"

He dragged her off to who knows where. She gave Cloud a pleading look as if he would rescue her. He understood her. Cid was loose cannon at times, especially when it came to flying.

"Go easy on her, Cid"

The pilot just waved her off and continued pulling Mikomi.

Cloud sighed and went to do another delivery, wishing he had a better job than this.

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Cid led her all the way to the outskirts of town. She didn't know why he was taking her out here, but her mouth flew open when she saw the _Shera_. It was like nothing she had never seen before. It was so huge and shinny. The metal reflected off the sunlight that peeked through the clouds. It amazed.

Cid grinned at her reaction.

"I had a feeling you would like it"

He lit up a cigarette and went up the ramp.

"You wanna see it in action?"

She looked like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Really?"

"Sure. I need to see how she does with the new adjustments I put on"

She ran up the ramp before Cid could get on. He chuckled at her reaction.

"Why can't everyone else be like her?"

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The inside was more amazing than the outside. There so many gadgets that she wanted to touch but knew that she shouldn't. She almost left like a kid in a candy shop.

Cid led her to the main part of the ship. She was surprised to see the floor was made of glass and that she could look outside from it.

Cid went up to the wheel and started the ship up.

"Hope you don't get motion sickness like Yuffie does, otherwise this trip won't last long"

The ship lifted off the ground. Mikomi could see Edge getting smaller and smaller as they went up. She was down on the floor as she watched themselves go higher. She was scared to be up this high, but was more excited at the idea.

Cid would speed up a bit, or do some turns to get her excited. It was fun watching her squeal in surprise or to have her asking for more.

"Come on up here, Mikomi" Cid said after they flew for a bit.

She went up to him. He grabbed her hands and placed them on the wheel.

"Now, hold your hands here and here. Then move the wheel like this"

He showed her how to steer the ship without crashing it. She was a little nervous, since she didn't know what she was doing. But after Cid showed her what to do, she got the hang of it.

It was really exciting to be able to fly Cid's ship. She felt like a different person.

Cid grinned over at her work.

"Nice job, Mikomi. You're doing better than what I expected"

She grinned at him.

"This is so awesome! I don't know why we don't have these in Konoha"

"Well, when you get back, you make sure to tell everyone about it. I wanna hear people wanting them"

"You got it"

"Now hand over the wheel so I can land us"

She handed it over and let Cid do his thing. She was disappointed that the ride was over, but she was glad that she was able to go on it.

Cid docked the ship back near the outskirts of Edge.

"Hope you enjoyed the ride"

"I sure did. That was so amazing"

He stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

"I wish the rest were as excited about flying as you are. Yuffie can't stand it"

"Well, maybe they've done it more than I have. You should add a little more to your flights, that'll get them going"

"Maybe I should"

They both went down the ramp.

"I should head back. Tifa must be wondering where I'm at"

She gave him a tight hug.

"Thanks for the ride, Cid. I needed that"

"No problem, Kiddo"

She ran back into town with a skip in her step.

Cid grinned as he watched her.

"What a sweet kid"

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_Day 3_

Vincent was doing some shooting practice in one of the allies. He didn't do it for a while, so he thought today would be the perfect time. He lined up a couple of boxes up and had targets printed on them. Loading up Cerberus, he aimed his trusted gun at each target. Without so much as casting a glance, he fired off at each target. Each made a bull's eye each time. The barrel of his gun smoked as it finished off its hit. Even after all of these years, he was still one of the best shooters in Gaia.

Mikomi sat on a crate as she watched him. She was lucky that he allowed her to come with him. It seemed that after he learned about Usagi, he was starting to become more sociable. It was nice on his part.

She was fascinated by how he could handle a gun. She saw a few of them from her world, but usually they were used by bandits. She had never seen one up close before. She was amazed by the detail that was put on to it. From the engravings on the barrel to the three- headed keychain blew her away. It put her sword to shame.

She got up from the crate and went over to him.

"That was pretty cool, Vincent"

He regarded her with a simple stare. It wasn't one of those emotionless stares, but rather one that held slight warmth to it.

She looked at his gun more closely.

"So…this is the weapon you use to fight?"

He nodded.

"Guns were one of my greatest strengths" he said. "I wasn't attuned to swords like Cloud is"

She giggled.

"I think that would be weird seeing you with a Buster Sword"

He managed to crack a grin.

She held her hands behind her back.

"So, do you use any other weapon beside a gun?"

He shook his head.

"I don't have much talent for other weapons. Being a Turk limits your selection"

"That's not good. Being a ninja, you have to have a variety of weapons. You can't stick with just one; otherwise you'll get killed to easily"

"I'm not a ninja" he pointed out. "And I rather not, after seeing how Yuffie acts"

"You don't have to be a ninja. But it would be a good idea to learn how to handle other weapons, that way it'll be harder for you enemies to know you're strengths"

She pulled out a few Kunai Knives and Shurikens.

"Here, why don't you start out with these?"

He looked at the weapons skeptically.

"I don't think these would suite well with me"

"Nonsense. Everyone is suited for Kunai and Shuriken. IT doesn't matter what they look like, it's how well they work"

She threw a kunai through one of the targets and watched it go right through the wood and into the wall.

"See?"

She handed him one of the kunai's.

"Just give it a try. I'm sure you'll like it"

He eyes the diamond shaped knife strangely. He didn't know how he got involved in this, but he knew he would never get out of it.

Gripping the knife, he threw it lazily. Despite his throw, he managed to hit a bull's eye.

"Way to go! See? You're already a natural. It took me a year to get a bull's eye, and you already got it on your first try"

She handed him a shuriken next.

"Let's see how you do with this one?"

He threw it like he did with the kunai and got another bull's eye. He wouldn't show it, but he was slightly proud of himself.

Mikomi patted him on the shoulder.

"See Vincent? You're not only suited for a gun. You're very talented with ninja weapons too. Just think, if you ever run out of bullets, you can always use these"

She handed him a pouch of shuriken.

"I have way too many of these, you need them more than I do anyway"

He took the pouch from her silently.

"Thanks"

She grinned at him.

"That's what friends are for"

He put them away as he loaded more bullets in Cerberus. He looked at his gun for a moment before he handed it to her.

"Since you showed me how to use your weapons, it would be fair if I showed you how to use ours"

Her eyes lit up.

"Really? You don't mind?"

He simply shrugged to show that he didn't care.

She carefully took the gun from him. She was so afraid that if she held it wrong that she might break it. Vincent could sense her uncertainty.

"It suffered worse damage before, touching it won't do anything to it"

She blushed.

"Um…so how I use this?"

He showed her how to hold it properly and how to pull the trigger. She pointed the gun at one of the targets that weren't used. Pressing the trigger, she felt her arm jerk from the impact the gun made. Her ears were ringing from the blast of the gun. When the smoke cleared, she saw the she made a hit. It wasn't a bull's eye but she was close to it.

She smiled at her work. She turned to Vincent.

"I did it! I didn't get a bull's eye, but I did it!"

She jumped up and down a bit. She forgot that her finger was still on the trigger and fired it off. It missed the targets from her jumping and hit a gas tank. It went up in flames (A/N: they were far from it)

She quickly handed him the gun and went red.

"Sorry" she said in a small voice.

Vincent's body shook slightly. She feared that he was angry at her. But she got the biggest shock of her life. Vincent was quietly laughing at her little display. Normally, he wouldn't find this funny, but since this regarded Mikomi, it was hard not to laugh. Her look was priceless.

Anime tears rolled down her face.

"Don't laugh at me! I could have killed someone!"

That just made him laugh even harder. She felt tears in her eyes.

"Stop laughing at me!"

He composed himself quickly.

"Sorry. It's just that I've never seen anyone blow up a gas tank like that. It was too random"

She placed her hands on her hips.

"You have a weird sense of humor, you know that? Do you laugh when you see things go 'boom'?"

"No. That was totally unexpected"  
"I'll say. I never thought that the great Vincent Valentine could laugh, but I guess I was wrong"

A foxy grin spread over lips.

"I wonder what the others would say if they heard this? Particularly Yuffie?"

"Tell her, and you'll be my next shooting target"

She laughed at him.

"Ha! As if you could actually hurt me, Vinnie"

"Vinnie?" he cringed at the name.

"Yeah, Vinnie. That's a nickname that I thought for you"

She had a childish grin on her face.

"I thought that since nearly everyone had a nickname that you should have one too, so I decided Vinnie"

"That doesn't really fit me"

"Hey, it's better than Yuffie's. She was planning on calling you, Vin-Vin"

His eye twitched.

"Vinnie sounds a lot better"

"I'm glad you think so" she chirped. "So, is it alright if I call you that from now on?"

She leaned forward to get in his face. He stepped back slightly. He didn't like it when people did that, it was too creepy.

"If I do, will you keep quiet about this?"

She gave a mock salute.

"Anything for a dear friend of mine"

"Then I don't mind"

"Yaaay!"

She glopmed him tightly.

"Thank you, Vinnie"

He patted her head.

"Anytime…'Komi-chan"

She laughed as he said her nickname.

She thought it was funny that the Silent gunman could be humorous at times.

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_Day 4_

"Come on, 'Komi-chan. We're going shopping!"

Tifa and Yuffie somehow managed to get her to go shopping with them.

Normally, she wouldn't so such a thing, unless it was to get groceries or weapons. But now, she was letting her girlfriends drag her all over Edge.

"If Yuri heard about this, she would flip out. She's been trying for years to make you like shopping"

"_Well, Yuri will never know of this, so shush!"_

"Whatever. But if you get any girly outfits, then I am so telling"

"_Never going to happen"_

"Sure. Whatever"

She found herself standing in front of a clothing store.

"Um…are we getting clothes or something?"

The girls laughed at her.

"Of course we are" Tifa said. "Why else would we be here?"

"To window shop or something?"

They just laughed at her.

"You are so weird, Mikomi"

They pulled her inside. She closed her eyes from the bright lights. When they adjusted, she saw so many different types of clothing in a variety of colors.

"Wow"

"What's wrong, Mikomi? Haven't you ever been in a clothing store before?"

"Not really, no"

"Then what the heck do you do about clothes?"

"I have a few outfits, but usually I get them at weapon stores. A ninja needs to move freely"

"Well, a girl needs to look nice every once in a while"

Tifa picked out some outfits that she thought would look nice on her.

"Judging from your looks and personality, I'd say you would look good in reds, blacks and whites"

She handed her some clothing and led her to the dressing rooms.

"Let's see how you look in these"

Mikomi looked at the outfits distastefully.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. You need to wear something else besides that outfit you always wear. You need to add some flavor to your looks"

"…..You're not going to let me get away from this, are you?"

"Nope, so go try your outfits on before I hurt you"

Sighing in defeat, she went into one of the dressing rooms. She didn't mind the outfits that Tifa picked out. She picked out ones that were her taste. She never thought that she would live to see the day where she would wear anything that wasn't fit for a ninja. She would always wear pants and fishnets because she was always on missions and she never had time to dress nicely. Now, here she was, dressing up in a nice white blouse with a black skirt.

She smiled. This reminded her when Yuri and her mom would take her shopping for clothes. They would always pick out cute outfits for her and make her look like a little doll. It was fun. But after her mom died, it just wasn't the same. Yuri would take her to get clothes, but it just didn't feel right to her without her mom there. As she grew older, she just stopped shopping for outfits unless she really needed them.

"_I guess I didn't want to remember those painful memories"_

As she looked at herself in the mirror, she saw her younger self again. She saw the happy, cheerful girl who tried on the outfits her mother picked for her. She could see her hugging her and telling her how cute she looked.

She closed her eyes contently. She wanted to bask in this moment as long as she could.

"Mikomi? Are you done in there?"

She quickly brought herself back into reality.

"Yeah, I'll be out in a sec"

Taking one last look in the mirror, she considered to be ok for her. Stepping out the booth, she anticipated to what her friends had to say.

"Oh, 'Komi-chan! You look amazing!"  
"You look like a totally different person"

She blushed. Not wanting to see their faces, she decided to focus on her shoes. She didn't change them since she thought that they looked well with her outfit.

She tucked he hair behind her ear.

"You don't think it looks weird on me?"

"Absolutely not" Tifa said. "You look really cute"

Memories of her mom calling her cute flash through her head.

_Flashback_

_Mikomi looked at the frilly Kimono that she was wearing. She looked like one of those Geisha dolls that she saw at the stores._

_Kushina hugged her from behind and rubbed her face against her._

"_Oh, 'Komi-chan, you are so cute! I'm so blessed to have a daughter as adorable as you"_

_Yuri joined in the hug as well._

"_And I'm so lucky that I'm your godmother. I get to dress you up and Minato can't give me crap about it!" _

_Mikomi just giggled as she received all the attention_

_End Flashback_

"Are you ok, Mikomi?"

She looked at Tifa.

"I'm fine, Tifa. I was just lost in thought, that's all"

Yuffie picked out a dress from the pile.

"Hey, why don't you try this next?"

She quickly made a face.

"I don't do dresses"

Yuffie shoved the dress at her.

"Oh, come on. Just try it on. It'll look good on you"

She pushed the dress back.

"The day I wear a dress will be the day you wear a dress, Yuffie. You should know that ninja's don't wear dresses"

The Wutai made a face at her.

"You are so stubborn sometimes"

"I know someone who's like that" Tifa said.

"Hey! Don't make fun of me!"

Mikomi and Tifa just laughed at her. Yuffie just pouted like a five year old.

Mikomi wouldn't admit it, but she was glad that they went shopping. She was able to do things that she did with her mom, only now she could do them with her friends.

She just hoped that Yuri never heard of this, or else she would try to make her go shopping with her. And if there was on things that Mikomi fear besides spiders, it was shopping with Yuri.

She put that out of her head and just continued shopping with her girlfriends. She was glad that she finally had some female friends for once.

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_Day 5 _

She decided to get in a little training for the day. Being a ninja meant that you had to be in top shape, the elders didn't take kindly to those lacking skill.

Having her sword out, she decided to practice with it. That last battle with Sephiroth was a real wake up call. She needed to be better at the sword or else she could get killed by him next time.

She swung her blade in a series of twists and turns. It looked like she was dancing in a way; a beautiful, deadly dance.

She added a few flash steps to the movements; she was always deadly this way. She could get attack her enemies without getting hit in the process. It was something her dad taught her while she was still a Chunin.

She took a break for a minute to catch her breath. She had been training for half an hour now without rest.

She looked at her sword. It was her prized possession, her treasure. She never went on a mission without it. It was the last gift her parents gave her before they died.

It was had an elegant samurai blade, sharp enough to cut paper. The metal was polished so nicely that she could see her face on it. The hilt was very different from regular samurai swords. The hilt had a golden fox carved into it with red rubies for the eyes. It looked a lot like Usagi in a way. It could channel her chakra so she could use her elemental attacks with it. Lighting or wind would cover it when she used it. Over all, it was a skilled weapon and she would never let anyone touch it, not even Naruto.

She got back to training and started hacking away at her invisible enemies.

She was so caught up in her practice that she didn't notice Cloud coming by until the last minute. He was coming back from a delivery and almost got his head cut off. He ducked at the last minute, but he almost fell off his bike.

Mikomi quickly dropped her sword and ran over to him.

"Sorry, Cloud. I didn't see you"

He took off his goggles and put them away before he looked at her.

"Just what exactly were you doing?"

"I was practicing. I've gotten a little rusty with my sword so I thought I should fix that"

She went back to her sword and continued practicing.

"You're not going to get any better by just hitting air"

Cloud grabbed his Buster Sword and faced her.

"You'll get a lot better if you have a partner working with you. Now let's see what you've got"

She went at him with her flash step. Cloud blocked her at the last minute.

"You're pretty fast. But that won't be enough"

He swung back and sent her a few feet away. She landed on her feet cat-style and went at him again. She secretly sent lighting chakra through her sword and had electricity coming out of it.

"How about this then?"

He blocked it again, only to have electricity run through his sword and zapped him. He dropped it and got kicked in the gut.

He fell down like a ton of bricks.

Mikomi gave him a foxy grin.

"Is that enough for you?"

Cloud got back to his feet and grabbed his sword.

"Not bad, but that's still not enough"

"Ok then"

She channeled wind chakra through her sword this time.

"How about this, then?"

She swung her blade, sending blades made out of wind at Cloud. He dodged them and had them cut up the rock that was behind him. It split in two and crumpled to the ground.

"That's a little better. But you need to have a little more to your attacks"

He performed his Blade Beam attack and destroyed the rock that was next to her.

"Like that"

"Oh, I see"

She closed her eyes in consecration. What she was about to do was like a double edge sword, it very hard to pull off.

She carefully mixed her wind chakra and lighting chakra into her sword. Since these two forces opposed each other, she had to be very careful of else her technique would explode on her.

Lighting zapped around her sword like it was a short fuse. Next, she slowly had the wind chakra swirl around it. So far everything was alright, now she had to use it.

Opening her eyes, she unleashed her attack. She jabbed her sword into the ground and watched as electricity ran throw the ground like an electric current. It reached one of the rocks and exploded on impact. Wind blades hacked through the rock and turned them into pebbles.

Sweat dripped from her forehead.

"How was that?"

Cloud looked amazed.

"Excellent. That was what I was talking about"

She leaned on her sword.

"That's good, because if you were going to ask me to do better then I would've kicked your ass"

Cloud cracked a smirk.

"You need to practice a little more, but you're good for someone your age"

She swung her sword and propped in on her shoulder like Cloud would do.

"You have to be good if you want to be a ninja, otherwise you won't get far on missions"

Cloud picked up his sword and put it away on his bike.

"Let's call it a day and head home, Tifa will get worried if we take too long"

She followed him lazily. She was too tired to flip out over Cloud's driving. She just held on tightly and weaved through the area.

Her eyes started to grow heavy with fatigue. Slowly, she propped her head on Cloud's back and fell asleep.

Cloud held back a smirk as he headed for the bar.

She sure was lucky to have a brother figure like him.

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_Day 6_

"I don't want to go"

Cloud thought it would be a good idea if they told Rufus about the Sephiroth incident. Mikomi wasn't thrilled with the idea and voiced her objection.

"Come on, Mikomi. Rufus will want to know what happened" Tifa said.

"You can tell him then"

"We can't. You were the one who fought him" Cloud pointed out.

Mikomi crossed her arms over her chest.

"I'm still not going"

"Come on, what's so wrong about Rufus?"

"It's not Rufus; it's the pain in the ass carrot top Reno that's the problem. If he's there, then I'm not going"

"But Reno is one of Rufus' body guards; he'll have to be there"

"Then I'm not going, and there's nothing you can do to change that"

Cloud eyed her seriously.

"Oh really?"

"Yep. I'm staying put and you can't do jack about it"

Cloud got up from his seat and walked in front of her.

"Just remember that I'm a delivery boy"

Mikomi glared at him.

"You wouldn't dare"

He lifted her up and threw her over his shoulder.

"Let's go Tifa"

Mikomi hit his back.

"Hey! What the heck do you think you're doing!? Put me down!"

"No. You're coming with and that's final"

He got on his bike and started it. He still had Mikomi over his shoulder.

"Shouldn't you put her down?" Tifa asked as she got on.

"If I did, she's try to get away, so I'm just making sure she doesn't"

He rode off with one hand holding Mikomi in place. She screamed like a girl (A/N: which she is)

"Cloud you idiot! You're going to kill me! Put me down!"

"We're almost there so hang on"

She dug her nails into his arm so she wouldn't fall off.

"I'm going to kill you when this is over!"

"Keep dreaming"

She continued complaining through the whole ride.

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Reno looked up from what he was doing to see Cloud, Tifa and Mikomi. He smirked when he spotted her.

"Well now, how is our lovely lady fairing?" He asked with a cheeky grin on his face.

His answer was a kunai embedded into the wall behind him and his cheek bleeding slightly.

Mikomi grimaced as she pulled out another kunai.

"Darn, I missed"

She was about to throw it but Cloud snatched it out of her hand and confiscated it.

"Behave Mikomi" he warned.

"I will if he does" she growled as she folded her arms.

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Rufus came into the room shortly after. He looked at Reno then at Mikomi.

"Do I want to know?"

"Not really" Cloud said.

"The fact that you're hear means you either want to know something or you have something to tell me?"

"It's the latter of the two"

"Let's talk into my office then"

The three followed him into the back and entered his office. Rufus sat behind his desk.

"So…what is it that you wanted to talk to me about?"

"I thought you would like to know about Sephiroth" Cloud said.

"Reeve told me the basics, but I take it you're going to tell me the whole story?"

"Not all of it, just the important parts"

Mikomi mentally sighed. She was afraid that Cloud was going to tell him everything, including Usagi. Tifa winked at her from behind Cloud. They had her back.

"Alright then, what are the important parts?"

Cloud nudged Mikomi forward. She looked at the ground nervously.

"Well…um…I was the one who…fought him and won"

Rufus didn't look surprised.

"Reeve mentioned that you did, but he never said how. Care to fill me in on that?"

She bit her lip nervously.

"Well, I didn't mean to fight him, he found me somehow. I can't say much except that I used a few of my tricks on him. He was caught off guard and I used that opportunity to get him"

"How did you do it?"

She fiddled with her hands.

"Well, it's hard to explain in words, I'd have to fight in order for you to understand"

Rufus pushed a button on his desk.

"Reno, get in here"

The red head came in a few seconds later.

"Yes sir?"

"I need your assistance for something. Mikomi needs a partner to spar with and I thought that you were capable for the job"

The said individuals eyed each other skeptically.

"I don't want to fight a girl" Reno said.

"Like wise" Mikomi added

Reno glared at her.

"I've hit girls ya know"

"So have I"

She elbowed him hard in the gut. He doubled over as he grabbed his stomach. He choked a bit as well. Mikomi grinned at her work but it faltered when she saw Cloud give her a serious look.  
"Was that necessary?" he asked.

"He was asking for it" she replied

Reno pulled out his nightstick.

"You little!"

Mikomi went to pull out her sword.

"All right, that's enough" Rufus interrupted. "If you're going to fight then do it outside, I don't want you wreaking my office"

They both eyed each other evilly.

"You're going down, bitch"

"I was about to say the same thing"

They both pushed each other out of the way so they could get to the door first. They race each other to see who would get outside first. Mikomi won hands down and picked her spot to fight.

Reno stood a few feet away from her.

"You're going to wish that you didn't mess with me" He taunted.

Mikomi wasn't paying attention and went into action.

"You better not go easy on me; otherwise this fight is going to be over really fast"

She held out a finger.

"This will be enough against you"

Reno didn't take her seriously.

"Are you kidding me? You're going to beat me with just one finger?"

Mikomi flash stepped and was right in front of him.

"Yep. You're not that much of a threat to me, so I don't have to take you seriously"

She flicked him in the forehead and sent him flying into a wall. He left an imprint and fell to the ground. He rubbed his forehead and got to his feet.

"You think you're hot stuff eh? Well guess what? You just woke up the dragon!"

"I better have woken up something because you're pathetic as hell"

Reno charged up his nightstick.

"Prepare to fell a thousand volts of electricity go through that petty little body of yours!"

Mikomi looked bored.  
"Oh, please"

She raised her finger and slammed it to ground. The earth split in half and caused Reno to fall through the crack.

She walked up to him and patted him on the head.

"Better luck next time, dumb ass"

She got up and walked away. Reno tried to get out of the crack but failed miserably.

"Hey! Get back here you little brat!"

She just flipped him off and stood next to Cloud and Tifa. She gave Rufus a satisfied grin.

"So, that's how you defeated Sephiroth?" he asked doubtfully.

"Pretty much yeah, if I showed you the other stuff I did, I would have killed carrot top, although…" she trailed off.

Cloud stopped her before she could think any farther.

"Bottom line, she got Sephiroth and she's on his hit list now"

Rufus nodded.

"I see. And do you know when he'll be back?"

"If I did, would I be here with you right now?"

"I see. I'll let you know if I find anything then"

Mikomi walked towards Fenrir. She stepped on Reno as she passed by.

"Sorry carrot top" she said sarcastically.

Reno glared at her.

Cloud and Tifa passed by.

"You asked for it" Tifa said.

They all got on and drove off.

"You know" Mikomi said "I'm actually glad that you dragged me with. I got to beat up carrot top and get away with it"

Cloud rolled his eyes.

"I'm so happy for you" he said sarcastically.

Mikomi just grinned like a fox as they went back to Seventh Heaven. She held onto Tifa so she wouldn't fall off.

"_This was a fun day"_ She thought.

They drove off into the sunset as their day began to finish. Tomorrow would be filled with wonders that they had yet to discover.

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_Day 7_

It was her last day here on Gaia. She spent the whole day preparing for her departure for tomorrow. The bar was closed so everyone could spend their last day with their new friend. They were all upset, but it was bound to happen. Mikomi had to return to her world eventually. She was meant to be there. Sure, she fit here, but it wasn't her home.

Mikomi had everything that she brought with on one of the tables. She had to organize her stuff so it would fit in her pouches that she had on her.

She had her weapons all sorted out in front of her. Her weapons consisted 5 dozen kunai knives, 7 dozen shurikens, a dozen senbon needles, a stack of paper bombs, 5 flash bombs, 3 smoke bombs, a vial of Yuri's special poison, military ration pills, blood clotting pills, emergency ration bars, a scroll containing even more weapons, materia that Yuffie gave her and her sword.

Yuffie peered at all of the items.

"Geez Mikomi. Do you have enough weapons?"

She shrugged.

"This is small compared to what I usually carry"

"You're term for small is large to us" Cid said. He was nice enough to sharpen her sword for her.

Vincent came over with a wooden box in his hand.

"This is for you" He said.

He placed the box in front of her. Mikomi got curious and opened it. Inside, she found to hand guns that were like Vincent's gun. They each had a fox engraved on the barrels and even had a keychain hanging off of it.

Mikomi looked up at him.

"This is for me?"

He nodded.

"I thought it would be a good idea if you had other weapons besides that sword of yours. Make sure you practice though"

She got up and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Vinnie"

He patted her on the head.

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Denzel and Marlene came downstairs with their heads down.

"Hey, why the long faces?" Mikomi asked when she spotted them.

Marlene had tears in her eyes as she looked at her.

"We don't want you to go Onee-chan" she sobbed.

She ran over to her and latched herself to her. Mikomi rubbed her back as she sadly looked at the girl in her arms.

Denzel hugged her too.

"Can't you stay a little longer?" He asked.

She shook her head sadly.

"I can't. I have things that I need to take care of at home"

"Like your missions" Pakkun said.

She sent the pug a dirty look.

"Yeah, like my missions. And I have to take care of Naruto"

"But we don't want you to leave!"

"I know you don't, but need to return home. There's nothing I can do about it"

Marlene rubbed her eyes.

"Then…can we go with you?"

"Yeah, can we?"

Mikomi sweat dropped.

"Eh…"

Marlene went over to Barret and tugged on his arm.

"Daddy, can we go with Onee-chan? I want to see where she lives"

Denzel did the same thing with Cloud and Tifa.

"Can we go too? Please?"

Mikomi waved her hands in front of her.

"Konoha isn't really a safe place for kids. My world is very dangerous. There are very bad ninjas, scary monsters, crazy godmothers…"

"Wait until Yuri hears this" Pakkun said.

"Annoying talking dogs. Not to mention, I'm not the most popular person in my village, if you know what I mean. People hate Jinchuriki's"

Yuffie pounced on her.

"In that case I'm going" she declared. "I can't let my ninja buddy suffer all by herself. I show those villagers what happens when you mess with the Wutai Princess"

Barret seemed to agree with her.

"I ain't gonna let a few villagers harass you. Nobody messes with my second daughter while I'm around"

Mikomi smiled nervously.

"I appreciate your concerns, but I'm use to the harassment. Plus, I don't think you want to have Marlene be in a village filled with ninja's. It's too dangerous"

"That's why I'm going with. I can't leave you alone by yourself"

"I won't be alone. I'll have Naruto with me"

"All the more reason to go. It's not right to leave two kids by themselves"

Mikomi looked at the group to see if they would help her.

"A little help would be nice"

Cid put out his cigarette.

"I wanna see what kind of village doesn't have any god damn airships. I gonna give them a piece of my mind"

"Ok, Cid's out" Usagi said.

Mikomi turned to Vincent.

"Vinnie?"

"If Yuffie's going, then I guess I'll go too. Somebody has to keep her out of trouble"

"Vincent too"

She looked at Red Xlll and Cat Sith.

"I'm fascinated about your world" Red said. "I want to see it with my own eyes"

"Me too" Cat Sith added. "I wanna see too. But I promise not to tell Rufus anything"

"Animals are out as well"

She turned to Tifa.

"Tifa?"

She smiled at her apologetically.

"I wanna meet Naruto"

"Tifa too"

Mikomi's last hope was Cloud. If he said no, then the others would have to say no.

"_It's not that I don't want them to come. I just don't want them to get hurt. My world is far more dangerous than theirs; they don't even know how to fight ninjas"_

"That's why they have you"

She waited for Cloud's answer. His would be the final answer for everyone.

"Cloud?"

The blonde looked at her.

"….I guess I could take a break from deliveries"

She fell over anime style.

"_What the heck?"_

"Are you serious?" She cried. "Did you not hear about the dangers? What about Sephiroth?"

"After what you did to him, he won't be doing anything for a while. Why are against the idea anyway? Do you not want us to come?"

"N-no, I just don't want you to get hurt. A ninja's life is not fun and games. Everyday could be your last Do you really want to live through that?"

"We've been through worse. If you don't want us to go then say so"

Mikomi thought it over.

"_I do like the idea of them coming with, but I don't want them to get hurt. Then again, they are strong and I don't want to leave them. I guess it'll be ok, just as long as they don't do any missions"_

She turned to Pakkun.

"Pakkun?"

The pug sighed.

"Fine, I'll ask the Hokage. You're lucky that he can't say no to you otherwise this wouldn't happen"

He disappeared and went to inform the Hokage about the arrangements.

Mikomi out her stuff away in the process. She needed something to do until Pakkun came back with the news.

Everyone waited for a few minutes until Pakkun came back.

They waited to hear the pug's news. He looked at them.

"He said that you're welcome to come, only that you remain in the village throughout your stay. Looks like you'll have some company Mikomi"

Denzel and Marlene burst with excitement.

"Yay! We're going to Konoha!"

They ran upstairs and started packing.

Yuffie did the same and left to go get her things as well.

"I guess we have some packing to do then. We'll see you tomorrow" Cid said.

He as well as the other left to go pack (except for Cloud and Tifa)

Mikomi looked at Cloud and Tifa.

"Are you sure you want to go?"

"Of course" Tifa said. "It'll be fun"

"alright, but if you complain that it's too much for you, don't say that I didn't warn you"

She went upstairs for bed.

"Be sure to be ready for tomorrow. We leave first thing in the morning"

That night, everyone got ready for the big trip that was ahead for them. Nobody could sleep (Meaning Denzel, Marlene and Yuffie). Everyone was filled with excitement for what was ahead of them.

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_Next day_

Everyone was at the Forgotten City the next day. Everyone had backpacks filled with stuff that they thought would be appropriate for the journey (In Yuffie's case, she brought nothing but materia).

Mikomi looked at everyone to see that they were ready.

"Are you all ready to see a world unlike this one?"

Denzel and Marlene were jumping in their spots.

"Yep!"

She pulled out her Hansou materia. It glowed like it did before.

"Alright then, let's go!"

They were engulfed in the white light vanished without a trace. The heroes of Gaia were no longer on this world, but were now arriving in the world of ninjas.

A little ways off, the wolf that Mikomi met before had watched the whole thing. He had a wolfish grin on his face as he left to do whatever he was up to.

"Take care"

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**A/N: And that was the end of part one! This has to be the longest chapter to this story so far. Next time, we'll see AVALANCE embark on a journey through the world of ninjas. A whole lot of mischief will happen when you have Naruto around. Tune in next time to see what happens.**

**And don't forget to send in those reviews. Without them, this story has no hope of surviving on its own. You readers are the only thing that keeps this story alive!**

**See you next time.**

**Ja ne**


	16. Mikomi's back!

Chapter 16: Mikomi's Back!

**A/N: We now enter part 2 of this story. Now AVALANCE is in Konoha. How will they fair in this dangerous yet crazy world? We'll just have to find out, now don't we?**

**A special thanks to Bakuto Masaki for sending me reviews and PM's, YOU ROCK! **

**Please, other readers send me your reviews! I'm begging on my hands and knees for Kami sake! **

**Anyway, let's get back to the story then.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7 (Grumbles)**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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Everyone stood near the village gates when the light disappeared. Pakkun stood in front of the group.

"I'll take this as my que to leave. It was nice meeting you all, and I hope you enjoy your stay"

With that, he left.

Yuffie looked at the gates that covered the village.

"Wow, this looks amazing"

Mikomi quickly stepped in front so no one would move.

"Before we go in, I need to set a few rules"

Everyone nodded.

"Rule number 1: Don't leave the village without me; it's very dangerous for someone who doesn't know the area well. Rule number 2: Please don't talk about the whole Jinchuriki thing in front of Naruto; he's very touchy about it. Rule number 3: Naruto is not to know about our dad being the Fourth Hokage, at least not yet"

"How come?" Cid asked.

"He just isn't ready yet, he'll go ballistic if he found out that his idol was actually his dad"

"Not to mention he'll be pissed that his own dad sealed a demon inside of him"

"Plus, how would you feel if you found out that your own dad sealed a demon inside of you?"

No one said anything.

"Exactly. Now on that note, let's go in"

The gates opened up to them as they stepped forward. They walked into the well known village of Konoha.

Yuffie's jaw dropped as she took in the scenery.

"This place is huge!"

Mikomi laughed.

"Yeah. It's considered to be one of the largest villages in all of the five shinobi nations"

Everyone simply marveled at the beauty the village held. It was so unlike Gaia. This world was filled with color and peace while their world was plain and dull (They were still recovering from METEOR after all). Everything was so beautiful.

Mikomi grinned at their reaction to her home. Everyone was like that when they first stepped into Konoha. It never got old.

"Let's go tell the Hokage that we're here. Then we'll get you settled in"

Before she could even take a step, she got tackled by an orange blur. It took her a full minute to realize that it was her brother that was on top of her and hugging her tightly. Naruto cuddled his sister as anime tears spilled from his eyes.

"Nee-chan! Where have you been?! You said you were only going to be gone for a few days, not a whole month! I was so worried about you! I thought I would never see you again!"

She sat up with Naruto still on her. She patted his head. She had a feeling he would act this way, he acted like this when she was gone for a day.

Everyone was amused by this. They had heard a lot about Naruto and now they were meeting him.

Mikomi smiled nervously at them.

"Everyone, this is my younger brother, Naruto"

Naruto finally noticed AVALANCE standing there.

"Huh, who are you?'

"These are my friends, Naruto. They helped me out while I was away. Meet Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockheart, Vincent Valentine, Yuffie Kisaragi, Cid Highwind, Barret Wallace and his daughter Marlene, Denzel, Red Xlll, and Cat Sith"

Everyone waved to him. Naruto eyed them for a moment, but broke out with a huge grin.

"Wow, you made friends, Nee-chan? That's cool. Thanks for taking care of my sister, she means a lot to me" He said the last part to them.

Tifa grinned.

"He's so cute"

Naruto liked the sound of that.

"I like her"

"You'll like all of them, Naruto"

Mikomi stood up and let Naruto go. He still stayed close to her, fearing that she would disappear any second.

"Nee-chan, why were gone so long?"

"I was going to explain that to the Hokage when you ran into us"

"Oh, ok. I wanted to see gramps anyway. Let's go"

He grabbed her hand and ran towards the Hokage's office with her in tow.

"Hey wait a minute!" Cid barked. "We don't know where this stupid building is!"

They ran after her so they would lose sight of her.

Mikomi sweat dropped as she continued to be pulled by her brother.

"_Not back for more than five minutes and things are already crazy. This is going to be a very long day"_

"Of course it is, this is Konoha after all. Every day is a long crazy day when you're here"

"_You stink Usagi"_

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"And that's about it"

It took her nearly two hour to explain everything to Sarutobi. Mostly because she had repeat things to Naruto so he could understand.

Sarutobi looked at Mikomi wearily. Her story was unbelievable at first. But after hearing it more and seeing the Hansou Materia, he believed her.

He mildly surprised to see her friends. They were a strange group, but he could tell that they were good. When he was asked if they could come, he knew he couldn't refuse her. Mikomi was a good girl who endured a lot of torment form the villagers. If they were here, then maybe things would be better for her. She needed someone to look after her, and he could tell they were it. He was sure that her father would want that as well.

"I thank you dearly for looking after Mikomi" he smiled. "And to show you my gratitude, you may all stay with us as long you want. Please enjoy your stay"

Mikomi turned to her group.

"Ok, guys. Since you let me stay at your place, you can stay at mine"

She went to walk out of the office before Sarutobi stopped her.

"Before you leave Mikomi, you have a list of missions that need to be done due to your absence"

She fell over anime style when she saw the huge list.

"_I just got back! Give me a break!"_

"But since you got back, I'll give you the week off so you can resettle"

"Thank you, Hokage-sama"

She sourly took the scroll from him and walked out of the office.

"Alright guys, follow me"

She went to take a step, only to end up bumping into someone. Kakashi stood in front of her with a disbelief look on his face.

"Mikomi? Is that really you?"

He pulled her into a tight hug.

"I was so worried about you. I'm so glad that you're alright"

Mikomi was redder than a tomato. She was being hugged by her crush with her friends watching. She returned the hug equally.

"I'm sorry that I worried you, but I made some friends and they kept an eye on me"

She introduced him to AVALANCHE and vice versa.

The guys weren't too happy with Kakashi hugging Mikomi. Call it the over protective gene if you will.

Naruto pulled on her arm.

"Nee-chan, let's go home"

"Yeah, we've had a long journey and we need to settle down"

Cid pushed her along and went outside.

Mikomi quickly waved good-bye to Kakashi.

"Bye, Kakashi. We'll catch up tomorrow or something"

He waved back in return.

"Sure thing, Mikomi. Glad that you're back"

She blush a little but covered it up and went home.

She didn't see the guys send nasty looks at Kakashi as they passed by.

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It felt weird going back to her house. It was like she was coming after being gone for so many years when in actuality, it was only a month. It still looked the same as it was when she left. Only now it wouldn't be so empty like it usually was.

She gave her friends a nervous grin.

"It's not much, but at least you guys have a place to stay"

"This place is huge!" Denzel said.

"Well, it used to be a boarding house before my dad owned it, so at least there's enough room"

They went inside and stood near the stair case.

"The rooms are all upstairs, pick which one you want and settle yourselves in. I'll make dinner so just relax"

She went into the kitchen and started preparing dinner for everyone.

"_I need to make a really nice dinner for everyone. It's not every day that I have friends over for dinner"_

"Then again, this is the first time you ever had friends over for dinner, let alone friends'

"_Which is why it's important that I make a very good meal for everyone?"_

"Just don't kill anyone with your food. You're not the very best cook"

"_At least I'm better than Yuri. And I have you to help me. You won't eat my cooking unless you help out"_

"Food shouldn't be abused like that. It should be treated with great care"

"_Whatever"_

The two started making a nice dinner for everyone.

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"Dinner's ready!"

Everyone came into the dining room to find the table filled with food. There was a variety from ramen to different types of sushi and meats.

Naruto's eyes bugged out.

"Wow nee-chan, that's a lot of food"

She rubbed her head nervously.

"Well, I thought since we had company that we should have a big dinner. Hope you don't mind"

"Of course not" Cid said as he took a seat. Everyone followed suite.

"As long as there's free food, I'll eat as much as you like"

"Thank you, Cid"

Naruto was about to dig into the ramen when Mikomi slapped his hand away.

"You behave, Naruto. I don't want you eating all the ramen, you hear?"

Naruto grumbled a bit.

"Fine"

Everyone ate as much as they could during the meal. Naruto managed to eat normally and not chow down his food like a pig.

"Not bad, Mikomi. Everyone likes it"

"_I have you to thank"_

"Well, you know me. I'll eat anything that is done well. Now that barbecued pork is calling me so give it"

She grabbed some and ate.

"Oh yeah! Now that is what I'm talking about! Cooked to perfection like always. It's no wonder that Naruto likes it on his ramen"

"_You're really weird, Usagi"_

"I'm just a fox who loves food"

Dinner went on without any trouble, well, except for when Cid and Barret fought over the last bit of

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"_The one thing I hate about giant meals is all of the dishes that have to be washed"_

A mountain of dishes was in front of Mikomi as she cleaned up. She hated doing dishes. It was one of her most hated chores, that and dusting.

"_This will take forever, even with shadow clones. At least I have a dishwasher"_

She continued scrubbing one of the plates that she was doing.

"Mikomi"

She turned around to see Tifa.

"What's up, Tifa?"

"I thought you would like some help with the dishes"

"It's alright. You're the guest, so you just relax. I'll take care of everything"

"But you helped me when you were our guests, it's only fair"

She looked back at the dishes that she still had to do.

"_At this rate, I'll be up all night cleaning. But it would be nice if I had some help, but I don't want to do that to Tifa, still…"_

She gave her best friend the puppy dog eyes.

"Help?"

She just laughed and picked up a plate.

"That's why I'm here"

Anime tears spilled down her eyes.

"You're such a good friend, Tifa"

"You are too, Mikomi"

They talked as they finished up the dishes. It went a lot faster with someone helping.

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Everyone was tired when they got ready for bed. They spent the whole day traveling by materia and walking around the village. They were all dressed in their PJ's. Naruto was excited to have people over. Nobody would stay at their house, mainly because they were Jinchuriki, but now they had a house full of people. He thought they were all cool, especially Cloud. He looked a lot like the Fourth Hokage, but was younger and had a huge sword.

"_I'll see if he can teach me how to use that sword, that way I can use it against Sasuke and gain Sakura's attention"_

He thought everyone else was cool too.

He like Tifa a lot, she acted like a mom to him and called him cute.

Yuffie was fun and like to play jokes on people, so he would be asking for her help with Sasuke.

Cid was cool and liked to swear a lot.

Barret seemed nice and treated him nicely at dinner.

Vincent seemed kind of scary but he looked cool to hang out with.

Red Xlll was interesting, period.

Cat Sith looked like a nice stuffed animal to sleep with.

And Denzel and Marlene looked like nice play buddies.

Yep, his sister made friends with a cool group. He just hoped that they would like him too. But, there was always tomorrow for that.

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After saying good night to everyone, Mikomi went to tuck Naruto in.

The blonde was already in bed when she came in. She kissed him good night and pulled the covers up so they would cover him.

"I'm glad you're back, Nee-chan"

She smiled at him.

"Me too, Otoutou. I'm sorry it took me forever though"

"That's ok. You brought friends with, and they seem really cool"

"You'll like them, trust me"

"I already do. Good night nee-chan"

"Good night, Naruto"

She turned off his lights and went to her room.

It was the same as she last left it. Nothing was out of place and was messy as before.

Climbing in bed, she sighed was she felt the familiar comfort that only her bed could give her.

She looked at her parent's picture.

"Good night mom. Good night dad"

She put it away and closed her eyes.

"It's good to be home"

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Near the village gates, a young woman entered the village. It was hard to make out her features in the dark. The only noticeable trait was her blue eyes that shined in the dark.

"It's good to be home"

Her smile shined in the dark.

"Just you wait, Mikomi and Naruto. The fun has just returned"

She laughed as she headed for the Hokage's office.

Mikomi was in for a big surprise when she woke up.

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**A/N: and that's the start of part 2. Next time, we'll see a new member of the group. Who is this woman and how does she know Naruto and Mikomi? We'll just have to find out. And AVALANCHE is in for a rude awakening. Tune in next time to see what happens next.**

**Don't forget to review too.**

**Ja ne**


	17. Yuri

Chapter 17: Yuri

**A/N: Now we'll meet the newest member of the team. Hope you all like her and that she's to your liking. I'll have a character bio on my OC's later as well as OC's that fans give me. See what happens when you review? You get your own character in the story, isn't that great?**

**Also, I start school next week so updates won't be as frequent.**

**If you review now, you could have your character join the list as well. All you have to do is push that review button.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7 (swears)**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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_Mikomi stood in front of her parents caskets. Tears streamed down her face as she places the flowers on them. The heavens were raining as if they too were sad at the loss of such great people._

"_Mommy…Daddy"_

_She tried to wipe the tears from her face, but they just continued to spill._

_Yuri knelt in front of her with Naruto in her arms. He was fast asleep, unaware of what was going on._

_She wiped Mikomi's tears away. She held such a sad expression on her pretty face._

"_Don't cry sweetie. They wouldn't want that"_

_Mikomi just continued to cry softly._

"_But…Mommy and Daddy are gone. Everyone blames us for their deaths and no one wants to be with us"_

_The older woman brushed her wet bangs out of her face._

"_That's not true. I'm here and I'll look after you and your brother. I promise we'll make the best if it"_

_Mikomi sniffled._

"_Promise?"_

_Yuri smiled at her._

"_I promise. I'll be here for you, no matter what"_

_Naruto cooed in protest._

"_And you too, Naruto"_

_They both laughed._

"_Let's go home, sweetie. You'll catch a cold in those wet clothes"_

_She held out her hand for her. The girl's tiny hand barely filled the older woman's hand._

_She took one last look at her parents._

"_Good bye, Mommy. Good bye, Daddy"_

_They left and went to their home. Preparing for a new life._

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She grimaced as she thought of that day. It wasn't that she didn't like it. It was just sad because it was tied to her parents.

Life was really hard after that day. Yuri had to raise two little kids on her own. Jiraiya helped out, but he was usually out gathering information on things.

It wasn't the same without her parents, but at least she had her Godmother.

Yuri was the best guardian that anyone could have. She acted a lot like a kid at times, but she was very protective of herself and her brother. That and she was one of the toughest ninja's in the village. No one messed with her and lived to tell the tale.

She wondered where she was now and how she was doing.

"_I hope she comes back soon. As crazy as it sounds"_

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The next day was spent around the village. Mikomi and Naruto gave everyone the grand tour of the village as well as introduced them to Naruto's team.

Naruto has to leave for a mission right after that, so now Mikomi was left with her friends.

"So, what do you think of the village?"

"It's pretty impressive" Cid said. He had made friends with Asuma when he found out he liked to smoke as much as he did.

They met all of the other Jonins that Mikomi was associated with. They thought Guy was a little creepy, but then again, so did everyone else in the village. The guys hated Kakashi right away since they saw him hug Mikomi yesterday. And they thought Kurenai was alright.

As for Naruto's team, they had mixed reviews of them. Sasuke was too serious for his own age and needed to lighten up a bit. Plus the whole revenge thins didn't work well with them. Sakura was fine except with her obsession with Sasuke.

They didn't meet the other rookies ninja's yet, but they had the whole day for that.

The only other person they had yet to meet was someone Mikomi was dreading, yet looking forward to introducing.

"Well, there's no one else that I know you'll want to meet. So why don't we go-"  
"OH MIKOMI-CHAN!!!!!"

The color drained from her face.

"Who the heck is that?" Barret asked.

"_I know who that voice belongs to"_

She quickly scanned the area.

"Looks like she's back"

"_No! I'm not ready for her hyperness yet"_

"Hey, who's that up there?"

Looking at one of the buildings, she saw the person that she feared seeing.

A woman who appeared to be in her late thirties stood on top of one of the buildings. Her white hair blew in the wind.

A smile spread across her face as she spotted her target.

"Oh, 'Komi-chan, it is you!"

She jumped from the building and body slammed the poor girl to the ground.

"What the?"

The poor Kunochi was picked up and held in the woman's deadly grasp.

Now that everyone got a better look at her, they could see her features better.

She had long white hair that reached to her waist with her headband tied trough it. She had sky blue eyes that glimmered like gems. Blue markings ran down her face that made her face stand out.

Her outfit consisted a white corset with blue trimming. Light blue shorts that went underneath her corset. White high heeled shoes that went up to her knees. (Tsunade style). And to top it all off, a blue trench coat that had the sleeves missing.

Over all, the woman stood out like a sore thumb.

It was obvious who this woman was. After hearing and seeing about this woman, they knew right away that this was Mikomi's godmother.

This was Yuri.

Yuri squealed as she hugged Mikomi close to her.

"Oh, Mikomi. I missed you so much! I didn't mean to be gone for three months, but you know I can't refuse that old bat. I least I'm home now. I promise I'll give you and Naruto all of the attention that I've denied you these past three months!"

She swung her around until her face turned green.

"Yuri, I'm starting to get dizzy"

"Opps"

She put her down on her feet.

"Sorry. I guess I'm so excited to be home. I missed you very much"

She pinched her cheeks like she was five.

Yuffie snickered at the scene.

This caught Yuri's attention. She looked at AVALANCHE surprised.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know you were there. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Yuri, the beautiful medic that you will find in this village. I'm also the godmother of the most talented and prettiest kunochi in all of Konoha!"

She rubbed her face against Mikomi's.

"It's such a blessing to have a goddaughter as lovely as my 'Komi-chan."

A sweat drop appeared on Mikomi's forehead.

"_Typical Yuri"_

"Now then" Yuri said when she stopped cuddling Mikomi. "Who, my I ask, are you?'

They all introduced themselves to her.

"We're Mikomi's friends" Tifa said.

Yuri looked like she was slapped across the face.

"Friends?" She said in disbelief.

"Yeah, we've been hanging with her for over a month now"

Tears pooled into her eyes.

"Oh, 'Komi-chan!"

She pulled her into another hug.

"You've made friends? Oh, I'm so happy! I never thought I would live to see the day that you would make friends!"

"_Did she think I wouldn't make any friends?" _she thought with annoyance.

Anime tears ran down Yuri's face.

"This has to be the most happiest moment of my life! My little baby finally made some friends. Oh, I bet your parents are so excited about this. I'm so happy that I could –"

She threw Mikomi up in the air and watched as she went up like a rocket. Mikomi screamed the whole time.

"Damn, that's quite a throw" Cid said

They all watched as she became a tiny speck.

Yuri blushed at what she did.

"Uh-oh, I did it again. 'Sighs' I just don't know how to control my own strength"

Everyone just eyed her weirdly.

"_She's crazy" _they all thought.

"Hey, guys!"

Naruto came running over to them.

"I finished my mission. So mow I can hang out"

Yuri's eyes lit up.

"Naruto!"

Naruto got excited when he saw her.

"Yuri!"

He got a big hug from her.

"How's my little ninja?"

"Fine, but where's nee-chan?"

As if on que, she came flying down and landed into Vincent's arms. She held on to him for dear life.

"Don't' let her get me" she pleaded.

"There you are, 'Komi-chan"

Yuri went to hug her but a couple of passerby's made her stop.

"Hey look, it's the demon brats"

"I thought one of them got killed or something"

"Man, they're so creepy"

Naruto and Mikomi flinched at the insults. Yuri's happy expression turned dark.

"Don't worry, you two. I'll handle this"

She walked over to them, only to have Yuffie and Cid beat her to it.

They both got in their faces and stated chewing them out.

"You think it's cool to pick on someone?" Yuffie asked darkly.

Cid pulled out his Venus Gospel and held it over his shoulders.

"You wanna repeat what you said about those two?"

The ninjas' didn't take them seriously.

"We called them demons, what of it?"

"I think you should apologize to them before things get ugly"

"Why should we? It's their fault that the Fourth Hokage died. They have those monsters inside of them. They're noting but a couple of freaks"

Cid's spear slammed into the wall next to them. The tip of it was close to their faces.

"What did you call them?"

"Freaks, what of it?"

Cid put out his cigarette. He would get serious if he put out his cigarette like that.

The look on his face was very scary.

"I think it's time you boys got yourselves a serious as beating. You should know that it's not nice to be calling people names like that"

"What are you going to do, old man?"

An evil grin spread across his face.

"Old man, eh? Let's see if you can out run an old man with a spear in his hands"

He pulled out his spear and went to hit them again. The ninja's ducked and started running.

"Where do you think you're going? I still need to beat your asses"

He ran after them.

"You better think next time before you start name calling people again"

Yuffie followed him with her giant shuriken in hand.

"You don't want to mess with an upset Wutai!"

They ran after them until they were out of sight.

"Cid's gonna really beat those kid's up" Barret said.

"They deserved it though" Tifa said.

Mikomi didn't say anything. She looked at the ground with a sad look on her face.

"_I'm back for only a day, and they already start with the name calling"_

Naruto pulled on her arm.

"Let's go home, Nee-chan. I don't want to be out here anymore"

She gave him a sad smile.

"Ok, let's go home"

They started walking away. Tifa caught up with them.

"Don't pay any attention to them" She said.

She got a sad smile.

"It's kind of hard when you lived with it for thirteen years"

Vincent ruffled her hair.

"We won't let them hurt you" he said.

"Thanks, Vinnie"

The rest of them followed her and tried to comfort the two vessels. Yuri was stunned at what just happened. She didn't what was going on, but she was going to find out.

"Wait for me!"

She jogged after them and caught up.

Nobody was really in the mood to be outside anymore. And no one knew where Cid and Yuffie were at the moment, so they just left them alone. They would come back when they were done.

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Mikomi didn't say anything when they got home. She just went into the kitchen and started making dinner. Naruto sat on one of the couches that were in the living room and covered his face with a pillow.

Tifa sat next to him.

"Don't be sad, Naruto. Those ninja's were just a bunch of idiots"

He pulled the pillow off his face to look at her.

"Then that makes everyone in the village an idiot then" He covered his face back with the pillow.

Yuri sat in one of the chairs.

"I just can't stand people sometimes" she said. "What gives them the right to torment others like that?"

"It's because it makes them appear stronger" Vincent said. "If you want to appear stronger, you have to make someone look weaker"

"That's a load of bull" Yuri spat.

Denzel and Marlene went over to Naruto.

"Naruto, will you play with us?"

He looked at the two kids.

"You want me to play with you?"

"Yeah, your sister played with us when she was with us, so we want to play with you too"

He looked at them for a moment.

"Ok. But I'm not doing dress up or tea party"

"No problem, we'll just play soccer outside"

They pulled him off the couch and dragged him outside.

Yuri smiled at them, they were cute kids.

Cid and Yuffie came in a few minutes later.

They had a few scratches on them, but other than that, they were fine.

"We taught those boys a lesson" Cid said. "They'll know better next time when they want to name call again"

They sat on the couch that Naruto previously sat in. They looked proud at what they did.

Yuri eyed them all seriously. Now that Mikomi wasn't in the room, she had the perfect opportunity to integrate them.

"I just want to ask you all a few questions now that we're alone" She said seriously. "Just how much do you know about Mikomi and Naruto?"

Everyone looked at each other for a moment.

"Well, we know Mikomi very well. But we've just met Naruto yesterday" Tifa said.

"How do you know one and not the other?"

They told her about the whole materia situation to her. She reacted much like Mikomi did when she first came to Midgar.

"Wow that sounds like something you would find in a sci-fi film"

"That's what Mikomi said" Yuffie said.

"Ok. Since you've known her that long, how much do you know about him, or rather, how much did she tell you about herself?"

"Well, she told us that her dad was the Fourth Hokage and that you were her godmother" Yuffie said.

"I see, and what else?"

"If you mean that she and her brother are Jinchuriki, then yeah, we know that too"

Yuri flinched at the word. It was like a bad word in this family.

"How did you find out about this?"

Tifa and Cloud looked at each other. They didn't know if they should tell the truth and say that they saw her lose control or if they should say that they were told"

Yuri could sense the tension between them.

"I'm guessing from your looks that she lost control and that you saw"

Tifa nodded.

Yuri sighed. This just proved that the seals were weakening.

"I see"

"But we don't hate her or fear her" Tifa quickly said. "We consider Mikomi as a member of our group. We don't care that she has something inside of her"

Vincent managed to revert to Chaos to prove Tifa's point.

"She's innocent compared to what we've faced with" he said when he reverted back.

Yuri was slightly surprised. She could sense some type of foreign charka within him.

"We promise we won't let anything bad happen to her, Ma'am" Tifa said.

Yuri grinned at her.

"I could tell by how your friends went after those guys. Thank you for that"

"It was nothing" Cid said. "They just needed a lesson on manners"

Yuri laughed.

"This whole village does"

Mikomi came out of the kitchen.

"Dinner's ready" she said softly. She was still a little upset about earlier.

Yuri got up from her seat and cuddled her.

"You have such nice friends, 'Komi-chan. Your friend, Cid made sure that those mean men won't ever bother you again"

Mikomi looked at Cid.

"Thank you, Cid"

The pilot grinned at her.

"No problem, Mikomi. You just let me know if anyone else picks on you like that. I'll straighten them out"

A smile managed to appear on her face.

Tifa gave her a hug.

"We're here for you, remember that"

She hugged her back.

"I know"

Yuri got all mushy.

"This is such a tender moment"

She joined in the hug and gave the girls bruises from her hug.

Naruto came in with Denzel and Marlene behind him.

"Nee-chan, is dinner ready?"

Mikomi managed to get out of Yuri's grasp.

"Yep, it's ready, so let's head to the dining room"

Everyone went to their spots at the table. Yuri sat in between Mikomi and Naruto.

"This nice that we have company over" she sighed.

Mikomi rolled her eyes as she served dinner.

"Since you're Mikomi's friends, I bet you want to know all about her when she was a kid"

Mikomi glared at her.

"How about not and say that you did"

Yuri pouted like a kid.

'But 'Komi-chan, they're your friends. I'm sure they're dying to find out more about you"

"Why don't tell about you instead? I'm sure they just want to learn more about you since they just met you"

Yuri's face lit up.

"Good idea"

She turned to everyone.

"So, do you guys want to hear about the time when I was a Yankee and a professional wrestler?"

Mikomi sighed.

No matter how many times she told herself, she would never get over Yuri's random crazy self. But she figured she was better that way. If she was anything else, life would be boring.

She held back a laugh as she looked at the guys horrified faces as Yuri continued to tell her past to them. By the time she was finished, their ears would bleed.

In a strange way, it was good to have Yuri back.

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**A/N: and that was Yuri. It wasn't much but wait as the story continues, she'll crazier than ever.**

**Here's her description for those who are interested:**

Name: Yuri

Age: 38

Height: 5'6"

Hair color and length: white, reaches waist

Eye color: sky blue

Facial features: blue markings under her eyes

Ninja ranking: Jonin, medic

Relatives: Jiraiya (cousin) Naruto (godson) Mikomi (goddaughter)

Paring: sercet

Specialties: Medical jiujutsu, sealing, super strength

Weapons: Bow and arrows

Chakra types: Water and wind

Summons: Birds

Past: Went through different phases while growing up. Mostly known for being a Yankee and wrestler, rest is still a mystery.


	18. Mikomi's rival

Chapter 18: Mikomi's Rival

**A/N: We have yet another chapter. This chapter is dedicated to Bakuto Masaki for review and sending me PM's. Plus, I'll be using the character that they have given me permission to use.**

**Hope you enjoy it, I know I will.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and Final Fantasy 7, what else is new?**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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Two weeks went by without any trouble. And in those two weeks, Mikomi had to do every mission that she missed while she was away. She dreaded it but knew they had to be done. She wished that she could spend more time with her friends but sadly, she had a date with an S-rank mission.

It wasn't so bad for everyone. Yuri was nice to hang out with when she was clam. She still scared them a little, like last week she had to assassinate someone and she did it while she was naked (why, they were still unsure. It could have been that she was drunk at the time).

Naruto was cool too, although he wouldn't leave Cloud alone. You would think that he would be annoyed with it, but after being around Denzel and Marlene all the time, he was used to it.

Life was pretty normal for everyone, or at least normal enough for a ninja village. But it made life interesting.

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Mikomi flinched as Yuri stitched up her arm. She had an Anbu mission earlier that day and

Ended up in a bloody mess.

"Yuri, that hurts" She whined.

The Medic just ignored her and continued her work.

"It's your fault that you're so reckless on your missions. You're a magnet when it comes to injuries"

She pouted when her arm got stitched up. Her pout turned into a hiss as her godmother tended to the bruise on her forehead.

"It's not my fault that my victim was hard to kill. It took me forever to kill him"

"Well, next time you kill someone, make sure you do it without getting hurt"

"No promises on that"

Tifa came in.

"How are you doing, Mikomi?"

"Oh, I'm just fine" she said sarcastically. "I got my arm almost cut off and have a splitting headache. Other than that, I'm just fine"

She gave her friend a weak smile. She knew that she hated Anbu missions.

"Just hang in there, ok?"

Mikomi simple grumbled her reply. She was in a bad mood.

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Naruto slammed the door behind him when he came home. He stomped into the living room and flopped on one of the couches.

"What's the matter with you, squirt?" Cid said over his poker game with Cloud and Vincent.

"It's that stupid Sasuke" He spat. "He keeps putting me down because he's better than me and calls me a loser. I'm sick of it"

"Yeah, well, he must have a stick up his ass or something. Don't let it bother you. He's just a weird friend, that's all"

"He's not my friend! He's my rival! I have to better than him so Sakura will notice me"

"The girl's not worth it if she see for who you are now. Just find someone else"

"No! Sakura is the prettiest, smartest girl in the village. I'm not gonna let that stupid Sasuke take her from me!"

"Whatever. Let me know how that works out"

"Don't worry, when I finish with my training, Sakura will be head over heels for me! You'll see!"

"Uh-huh"

Mikomi stepped into the room with her arm wrapped up. She had a bandage that covered the bruise on her forehead as well as on other places from her body. She looked like a wreck right about now.

"Well, don't you look nice" Cid said sarcastically.

She just sent him a glare.

"I'd like to see you do what I do for a living. Then you'll see how hard it is to be a ninja"

"No thanks. I'd rather not get myself blown up or chopped to pieces"

"Then don't be acting smart with me"

Yuri patted her shoulder.

"Now, now, 'Komi-chan. Cid was just trying to be silly. Don't take it too seriously"

She just grumbled and sat in a chair.

Pakkun appeared a few seconds later.

"Mission delivery"

He plopped the scroll on his master's lap.

Mikomi grimaced at the rolled up paper.

"I never get cut any slack"

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger" he said before he disappeared.

She unrolled the scroll and read what was inside.

"Ah, geez"

"What is it?"

"Apparently, ninja's from Kumogakure will be coming here to talk about our alliance with our village and I need to make sure that nothing happens to them"

"That doesn't sound so bad" Yuri said.

"It's a body guard mission, and I hate body guard missions. I hate them as much as my Anbu missions"

Naruto pouted.

"I wish I was like you Nee-chan. Then I could have high ranking missions and not those stupid D-Rank ones"

"Naruto, news flash. All missions suck. Yours are the worst kind yet"

Pakkun came back with another scroll in hand (or mouth in this case)

"I have a new mission for Naruto. I heard its D- rank and that he has to sponge bad some old guy"

Naruto looked at the ceiling.

"God hates me" he said as he left.

"Poor Naruto" Yuri said.

Mikomi just rolled her eyes and got up.

"Well, I might as well get this over with. The sooner those Cloud ninja's finish their work here, the sooner I get rid of them"

"You're so mean, 'Komi-chan" Yuri chided her.

"No. I've just had it up to here with missions. I want a break so I can spend time with my friends"

"There's no rush, Mikomi. We won't be leaving for a while"

"Yeah, well I won't get a break for a while either"

She grabbed her sword and left the house to do her work.

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Scanning over the scroll once more, she read over the basic of the mission.

"_Let's see. I'm supposed to meet a Yugito Nii and a Bakuto Masaki. I guess they were picked to take care of the negotiations. Leave it to a Kage to send someone to do the dirty work for them. At least Hokage-sama isn't like that. Still, I don't want to babysit foreign ninja's. I just know I won't get along with them and their ideals of the way of the Shinobi. 'Sighs' this must be Sarutobi's way of punishing me for being gone for so long. It's not like I was playing hooky or anything. Still, I did neglect my duties for too long. I'll just have to face the music and deal with these ninjas. Who know, maybe I'll get along with them"_

She waited at the gate for when the cloud shinobi would come. She didn't know how long she would have to wait but she was already bored within the first minute. She could be a patient person, but she had her days where she could snap at any second.

Having nothing better to do, she decided to count the leaves that fell from the tree in front of her.

When she got to 156, she heard footsteps off in the distance. Off in the horizon, she could make out the figure of a person stumbling as they walked.

"What the?"

She ran up to the figure and saw it was a kunochi from the Village hidden in the clouds.

She had long blonde hair that was tied up with a long piece of fabric. Her headband rested on her forehead the same way as everyone usually wore their. Her shirt was black at the top and violet at the bottom. She wore standard Jonin pants that were a shade of purple with a red belt. She wore fingerless gloves and had bandages wrapped around her arms. She wore the standard ninja footwear.

Over all, she looked like a standard cloud ninja.

The kunochi wasn't in the best shape. She had a few cuts covering her body and had a kunai lodged into her shoulder. Her eyes looked weary as if she was about to pass out any second. She stumbled a bit before Mikomi caught her.

"Hey, are you ok? What happened?"

The cloud ninja looked at her with heavy lidded eyes. Her mouth tried to form words to say.

"Bakuto" was the only thing she said before she blacked out. Mikomi picked her up and placed her on her back.

"Geez. You look like you went through hell"

"I wonder if Yuri could fix her up."

As she walked away, she never saw the pair of blue eyes staring at her in the distance. A growl erupted from the watcher as they saw Mikomi take the Kunochi further into the village.

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Mikomi kicked the front door open of her house. Her hands were full at the moment and she knew the door wasn't locked.

"Yuri, I need your help with something!" she shouted, but not loud enough to wake up the injured ninja.

Yuri came into the living room when she placed the ninja on a couch.

"Oh, who do we have here?"

"I think it's one of those cloud ninja's that were suppose to come to the village. I don't know what happened to her, but she looks pretty bad. Could you fix her?"

"No problem. I'll see what I can do"

She quickly got to work and started healing her. Mikomi pulled out the kunai that was in her shoulder. It looked like any kunai knife except it had a blue handle. Usually ninja's would color code their weapons so they would know who's were who's. The only person that she knew that would have blue weapons was…

"Yuri?"

She gave her godmother an accusing stare. Yuri seemed to flinch at the tone of her voice.

"What color tape do you put on your weapons?"

"Blue, why do you ask?"

"Because this Kunai that I found in our friends body just so happens to have blue tape on it"

Yuri didn't say anything.

"Would you care to explain why one of your weapons would be lodged into an aiding ninja's body?"

Yuri laughed nervously.

"I-I have no idea how that got there. Someone must have stolen some of my weapons again and used them, Heh"

"Yuri"

Mikomi got in her face.

"You wouldn't have set up some traps outside of the village without anyone knowing, would you?"

Yuri started sweating.

"N-now why would I do that? You need to get permission from the Hokage in order to do that. Do you honestly think that I would hide traps behind the Hokage's back, just so you don't disappear again? That's crazy"

She went back to her work and avoided eye contact with the girl next to her.

"She did it" Usagi said.

"_Without a doubt"_

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The cloud ninja groaned. Her eyes fluttered open to find herself in someone's home.

Mikomi came into her line of sight.

"Hi there"

The cloud ninja pulled out a knife and went into defensive mode. Mikomi waved her hands in front of her innocently.

"Hey, Hey relax. I brought you here so you get fixed up"

She lowered her knife slightly.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Mikomi Uzumaki. I was supposed to keep an eye on and your partner while you were here to make negotiations with the Hokage. I brought you here since you were all banged up, what happen to you anyway?"

"My teammate and I were coming into the village when we got caught in a trap. The whole area was rigged with hidden weapons"

Mikomi glared at Yuri who fiddled wither fingers in a Hinata manner.

"Um… that's kind of my fault. I was just testing out some new traps and forgot to take them down. Sorry about that"

Mikomi rolled her eyes at her before looking at her guest.

"At least you're alive. What's your name anyway?"

"I'm Yugito Nii"

She bowed at her.

"Thank you for helping me back there. I am in your debt"

"Don't worry about it. So, you said you were with your teammate, right? I didn't see anybody else"

Yugito bowed her head.

"I was with my boyfriend, Bakuto when we stepped into that trap. We got separated when I stepped on a paper bomb"

Mikomi whirled on Yuri.

"You used bombs too!"

"Hey, at least she's alive. Besides, they weren't that strong anyway"

Mikomi rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"You are too much for me sometimes" she said under her breath.

She turned back to Yugito.

"Since this is basically my fault, I'll help you find your boyfriend. I need to look after you anyway while you're here"

Yugito gave her a grateful smile.

"Thank you"

The two of them walked to the front door.

"If you see any of the guys, tell them that I went to help a friend"

"What'll we do about dinner?" Yuri whined.

"Order out or something. I can't cook for you all of the time, geez"

She walked out the door with Yugito with her.

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The two females walked through the village. Yugito bit her lip nervously as she scanned the area. Mikomi could sense her nervousness and patted her shoulder.

"Relax. We'll find Bakuto in no time"

"I hope so" Yugito said. "He's very important to me"

"So, have you two known each other that long?"

"We grew up together. No one really liked me from my village to begin with, but when I met Bakuto, I felt my world became brighter. HE means so much to me. He's the first person I ever fell in love with. I don't know what I would do if anything happened to him"

Mikomi was impressed.

"Wow, you're really serious about this guy. It makes my crush sound pathetic"

"You have someone you love too?"

"Yeah. We were on the same team as Genin and we got each other out of some tight situations in the past. He's like my other half when I think about it. I've had a crush on him since I first met him. But, I don't want to say anything that would ruin our friendship"

Yugito gave her a sympathetic smile.

"I know how you feel. I was like that when I had a crush on Bakuto. I was so afraid that he would reject me, yet I realized that he felt the same way about me. He never showed it, but I could tell right away after I found out"

As they walked by, a Jonin spotted them.

"Demon" he spat as he walked by.

Mikomi growled and dug her nails into her fist.

Yugito looked confused.

"What was that all about?"

"Nothing" Mikomi snapped. "Just some pain in the ass who likes to torment me because I hold the village's sacred guardian"

Yugito's eyes went wide.

"You mean…you're a Jinchuriki?"

"Yeah, what's it to you? Are you going to run off and start screaming monster too?"

"No" she said hurriedly. "It's just that… I know a few Jinchuriki's from my village. I think it's so unfair how people treat them. They don't even know what they go through. They keep those tailed beasts from harming us and sacrifice their bodies and lives with it. It's so injustice"

Mikomi looked at her for a moment. A grin spread over her lips.

"You have to be the first person I heard say something like that" She put an arm over her shoulder.

"I think you and I are going to get along real well"

Yugito smiled.

"I think so too"

They continued their search for Bakuto in the outskirts of the village.

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When they couldn't find him in the village. They decided to try the forest where Yugito got separated from him. They had to be careful since some of Yuri's traps were still active.

"I can't believe Yuri would do this" Mikomi said as she deactivated a bomb.

"She never uses her head sometimes. She could have ruined our alliance with a neighboring village with her idiocy"

Yugito waved her hands in front of her.

"Now, now. I'm sure she was just trying to protect your village from enemy ninja. They were very good traps. Even I couldn't tell where they were and I'm an expert at that sort of thing"

"Yeah, well my godmother tends to be overprotective sometimes, which can get annoying"

"But at least she cares for you. Normally, people would want to stay from a Jinchuriki but she wants to be by you"

"I know. But I'm not the only one who needs protection. My brother's a Jinchuriki too and he's younger than me, he needs the protection. I have my friends to look after me"

"Well, at least you have people who care about you"

Mikomi smiled.

"Yeah, I do"

They heard a rustling from one of the bushes nearby. Both girls got into defensive mode.

"Who's there?" Mikomi asked as she pulled out her sword.

"Naruto popped his head out.

"Hi, Nee-chan"

He jumped out of the bush and ran over to her.

"I finished my mission and saw you out here"

As he walked closer, his foot caught on to some wire and triggered another trap.

Kunai knives flew everywhere. The skilled ninja's dodged all of them without getting a scratch.

Mikomi grabbed a kunai just as it was about to hit Yugito in the head. She glared at her brother.

"Naruto! You should know better than to follow me while I'm on a mission. Plus, you should know better than to run around when there are traps all over the place. And you call yourself a ninja"

Naruto's shoulders slumped as he got chewed out by his sister.

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The figure with the blue eyes was perched up in one of the trees. They came when it heard the sound of a trap setting off. It got there in time to see the Konoha ninja have a Kunai held near the Cloud ninja's face. A growl erupted from its throat went in for the attack.

Mikomi had only seconds before she sense the figure coming at her at lightning speed. She pulled out her sword in time to block two swords aimed for her head. Her green eyes locked with blue as the figure finally showed itself.

The person jumped back and held their swords at the ready.

Mikomi took her time to quickly analyze this stranger.

Judging from its appearance, she could tell that this person was a male. He had spiky black hair that looked a lot like her brothers. Blue eyes that were as cold as ice. He wore a headband that was tied around his neck like her headband was. It held the symbol that showed he was from the Cloud village like Yugito. He wore a black shirt and black Jonin pants. Over this, he wore a black trench coat that had white flames on the edges. The swords that he held were most interesting. In his right hand, he held an all white katana while in his left was an all black one.

Overall, he looked like he meant business and was ready to kill.

Yugito had a relieved look on her face.

"Bakuto!"

Mikomi looked at the man that was now known as Bakuto.

"_So that's her boyfriend? He looks charming. I just love his smile"_

Bakuto didn't seem to pay attention to his girlfriend as he continued to glare at Mikomi.

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Um...why are you looking at me that way?"

He raised his swords and pointed the black one at her.

"You tried to kill my girlfriend" he said darkly. "You will pay"

He went at her at lightning speed. Mikomi blocked his swords.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"I saw you had a knife to Yugito's face! You were trying to kill her!"

"What?! No I wasn't' I grabbed that knife before it could be lodged into her face"

"Don't lie!"

They clashed swords with each other again and again. They were evenly matched.

Yugito looked horrified as she watched her boyfriend try to kill her new friend.

"Bakuto! Stop!"

He didn't listen to her and just kept going after Mikomi.

Naruto hid behind Yugito and watched as the fight continued.

"_This isn't good" _he thought. "_Nee-chan could get killed. I need Yuri's help"_

He quickly snuck off and went to find his godmother.

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Mikomi was getting tired of this sword blocking game and took off. She flashed stepped away from Bakuto's sword and headed back to the village.

Bakuto glared at her retreating form.

"Don't you dare run from me!"

He went after her just as fast as she did. Yugito ran after them to try to stop her boyfriend from killing Mikomi.

She ran through the streets of Konoha. She swore when she saw Bakuto was on her tail.

"Geez, this guy won't give up"

She saw Cloud and Vincent up ahead.

"Crap"

They spotted her running at them.

"There you are, we were wondering where you were"

Mikomi waved her hands around.

Move out of the way!"

The both looked at her dumb.

"Huh?"

She sighed and quickly jumped in the air when she got close to them. She threw a few kunai's at Bakuto to try to keep him at bay which he just deflected them.

"Don't fight me in such a weak manner!"

He jumped up in the air as well. The two fought in the air for a bit before landing on one of the buildings. They would jump in the air and clash swords then land on buildings.

Cloud and Vincent watched as their friend tried to fight off Bakuto's attacks. Yugito ran after them still and jumped on the rooftops.

"Bakuto that is enough!"

They just watched as the three of them went further away.

"What the hell?" Vincent said.

Yuri and Naruto ran past them. Yuri had her bow and arrows out.

"They went this way, Yuri"

Yuri notched a bow to her arrow.

"Nobody hurts my baby and gets away it!"

They ran after them as they headed for the forest.

Cloud and Vincent looked at each other before going after them as well. They weren't going to let some guy hurt Mikomi while they were around.

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Trees fell down as Mikomi and Bakuto went at it. They clashed swords again for the umpteenth time and were getting nowhere.

Mikomi powered up one of her attacks.

"Kiri kiri mai!"

Blade of wind shot of her sword and headed for Bakuto. He just deflected them and performed his own attack.

"Blades of hell!"

Fire shot out of his white katana.

She got hit by a few and was burned badly.

"You Son of a Bitch!"

"That's what you get for hurting my Yugito"

"For the last time, I was not hurting her"

Yugito landed in the middle of them.

"She's telling the truth, Bakuto. She was trying to help me"

"No! They set those traps because they don't want us here. You think you Leaf ninja are so better than us that you don't need to be aligned with us. I'm just sick of it! I'll show you that you're no better than us!"

He charged at Mikomi and hit her in the gut. Blood came out of her mouth from the force. She slammed into a tree and made an indent.

Bakuto went to aim another hit at her, but Yugito got in front of her.

"Bakuto Masaki that is enough!" she yelled. "We didn't come here to fight! We need to strength our bond with the Hidden Leaf. Fighting is only going to start a war"

"I don't care! The Leaf are the same as every other village. They don't care what happens to us as if we get hurt or caught in a war"

"But this girl isn't like them at all!"

"How can you tell? You just meat the girl, what makes her so different from the rest?"

"She's like us"

Bakuto didn't say anything for a moment. A cold smirk appeared on his face.

"What a load of shit" he spat. "How could she be anything like us?"

"Trust me, she is. She even told me herself"

Mikomi looked at her confused.

"_What is she talking about?"_

"Why should I listen to you about this?" Bakuto said.

"Because if you love me and you know that I would never lie to you"

Mikomi put an arm on her shoulder.

"Forget it Yugito" she said in a raspy voice. "His mind is clouded with anger at this point. He needs to have a clear head if he's going to listen to you"

She walked towards Bakuto.

"Don't!" Yugito pleaded. "You'll only get hurt"

Mikomi gave her a confident grin.

"Don't worry. I can handle it"

She faced Bakuto.

"You think that you're better than the Leaf?" she challenged. "Let's see what you've got"

She got into a fighting stance. Bakuto did the same.

"You'll pay for trying to mess with me" he said.

"Don't get ahead of yourself"

A leaf fell off its branch and fluttered to the ground. When the leaf made contact with the ground, they went off.

It was an all out fist fight between them. Punch after punch, kick after kick. They went all out on each other with the intent to kill. Mikomi fought dirty and added chakra to her punches so they would hurt more. Bakuto did the same with his kicks and got her in the ribs.

Yugito couldn't stand to watch this happening. She hated when Bakuto was like this. He was uncontrollable.

Cloud, Vincent, Naruto and Yuri arrived at the scene.

"Nee-chan!"

Naruto went to go help his sister but Cloud held him back.

"Don't!" he said. "If you get caught up in it now, you'll only get hurt"

"But Nee-chan is…"

Vincent pulled out Cerberus and aimed it at Bakuto. It was a little hard to do with them moving around, but he wasn't a master shooter for nothing. Pulling the trigger, he fired off a round and got him in the arm.

Bakuto hissed in pain. He looked at the direction from where the bullet came and saw them.

"You" he hissed.

Mikomi saw them too.

"_Oh crap"_

She pounced on Bakuto when he went to go after them.

"If you want to get to them, you have to get through me first"

He grinned wickedly at her.

"Fine"

He shoved her off with such force that she went flying. She quickly landed on her feet and looked as he got up.

His eyes changed drastically. His normally blue eyes went to goldish color. His pupils went into mere slits.

The air was so thick and heavy.

Black and silver chakra covered his body and started to take shape. Giant wings made sprouted out of his back while a tail was being formed.

"Oh my god! He's a Jinchuriki!"

Mikomi's throat went dry. She knew that there were others like her and Naruto, but she never thought that she would meet one.

A dragons head formed over Bakuto's.

"Since you're going to die, I don't have a reason to hide this from you" He said in a demonic voice.

"That's Taimat no Draconis, the ten winged dragon" Usagi said in realization. "He was the guardian of Kumogakure. They sealed him away?"

Cloud and Vincent were awestruck at the sight. So there was someone else besides Mikomi who had a demon inside her. This world was full of surprises.

Bakuto growled demonically at Mikomi.

"Feel the wrath of Taimat!"

He flew at her and dug his claws into her side. Blood spilled everywhere when he pulled back. Mikomi fell to her knees and held her side. Blood spilled between her fingers.

Bakuto didn't falter his attacks and whipped his tail at her. She went crashing into a tree and caused it to fall over.

"Nee-chan!" Naruto cried.

He struggled from Cloud's grip but the blonde held on.

Mikomi struggled to her feet. Blood spilled out of her wound and went all over the place.

"Mikomi, you can't fight him like this" Usagi said. "You need my help with this fight"

"_But you said I couldn't use your powers when in battle"_

"That's if unless you're in a life or death situation or if you're confronting another Jinchuriki. And since you're confronting with another Jinchuriki, now would be the best time"

Bakuto grinned at his work.

"Ha! Now the Leaf will know better than to think highly of themselves"

Yugito lost it and transformed herself.

Her eyes went yellow and cat like while her body was covered in blue chakra.

"BAKUTO!"

The chakra took the shape of a cat.

"I HAVE HAD IT WITH YOUR NONSENCE!"

She took a pouncing stance and went after her boyfriend.

Bakuto braced himself for his girlfriend's onslaught, but was blocked by a red blur.

Mikomi/Usagi got in between them and blocked both of their attacks. Usagi had a toothy grin on her face.

"So Two tails is here too?"

She flung them away from each other and stood her ground.

"This is some day. We have Ten wings in one corner and Two tails in the other. This must be my lucky day or something"

Bakuto stared at her in disbelief.

"You're… a Jinchuriki?"

Yugito wasn't phased. She already knew about her.

Usagi gave him a mock salute.

"The names Usagi. I'm the nine tailed fox and guardian of the Hidden Leaf. And as of today, I'll be the one who will kick your ass"

She charged at him and punched him in the gut. Bakuto crash through the trees and caused them to fall. He got back up and went flying at her. Yugito got in the way and kicked him in the side. He dodged it and swiped his claw at Usagi. She did the same thing and they both got each other in the face. Blood splattered everywhere. Usagi licked her face and laughed evilly.

"Oh, this is going to be fun"

The three Jinchuriki's all faced each other. Growls erupted from their throats. The air was so thick with chakra that it was hard to breath. Tails swayed it the wind and slited eyes drilled holes in one another. Everything was so still that it all seemed unreal. Then it all came crashing down when they attacked.

It was like watching a pack of animals trying to kill each other. Biting. Clawing. Slashing. Tails whipping. It was all too much.

Naruto clung to Cloud as he watched his sister bite into Baktuo's neck. Blood splattered and covered her face. This wasn't his kind, sweet sister. This was an imposter. He hid his face into Cloud's shirt and let the blonde hold him.

Yuri's face was grim. She didn't like it when Mikomi acted like this. It just showed that her father's seal was breaking. She wasn't going to stand here and let this unfold.

Pulling the arrow that was notched to her bow. She fired three arrows at the three Jinchuriki's. They all landed with a solid hit in the shoulder. Chakra strings were tied to the ends of them. She jumped in the center and performed handsigns.

"Ninja art! Four Prism Seal!"

A box made of chakra surrounded them. Usagi tried to break through but the walls would zap her.

Yuri did another series of handsigns and held onto the chakra strings. They glowed at the end from where she was holding it.

"Sealing art! Forced Retreat!"

The chakra strings glowed all the way shot right through the bodies. They all let out a roar as the chakra slowly receded from their bodies and went back inside them. One by one, they dropped like flies hit the floor like a ton of bricks.

Yuri took the prism down and looked at her goddaughter sadly.

"_Poor baby. She tries so hard to stay in control, but it isn't enough"_

Picking her up, she glanced at Cloud and Vincent.

"Pick these two up. Were bringing them back so I can treat their injuries"

Cloud picked up Bakuto and threw him over his shoulder while Vincent picked up Yugito.

Naruto stayed close to Yuri as they all went back to the house.

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"_Jinchuriki wounds are a bitch to heal"_

That was all Yuri could think as she healed up Bakuto. Out of the three of them, Bakuto suffered the worse. It could have been that Yugito and Mikomi were attacking him the most rather than each other, but they suffered a few injuries of their own.

Mikomi got treated by Tifa while Yugito was resting. Yuri had to focus more on Bakuto's wounds so they wouldn't leave scars. Tifa took care of Mikomi's wounds with a simple cure materia.

The others watched as they were all being treated. They heard about Bakuto and Yugito being Jinchuriki's and wanted to see them.

"_It's not like their part of a freak show or anything" _Yuri thought as she finished up the last cut on Bakuto's face. He looked as he did before, a little paler.

After a few minutes, they were all up. It took them a while to figure out where they were. But when Mikomi and Bakuto caught sight of each other, they drew out kunai.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa" Yuri said as she got in between them.

"Let's not get carried away you two. I just finished healing you both"

"You're a Jinchuriki?" Bakuto hissed.

"No, I'm the tooth fairy" Mikomi said sarcastically. "Yes I'm a Jinchuriki, you ass!'

Yugito got in front of her boyfriend.

"This is what I was trying to explain" she said. "She's like us"

Mikomi looked at her.

"You failed to mention that you and your boyfriend were Jinchuriki"

Yugito smiled at her sadly.

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you. But that's something that one doesn't talk about. Plus, I didn't want it to jeopardize our mission"

"Well, when Hokage-sama hears about what just happened, it might" Yuri said.

Bakuto 'tsked'

"Who care about that now? You were the ones that set up those traps on us in the first place!"

"Actually, that was kind of my fault" Yuri said nervously. "I was practicing some new traps and forgot to take them down"

"And do you really want to jeopardize this mission over something like that?" Mikomi asked. "Your village is counting on you to make the negotiations that will strengthen our bond between villages. You shouldn't just drop it because you have issues"

Bakuto glared at her.

"It's your entire fault! You were going to hurt Yugito!"

"Oh for god sakes. I've told you that I wasn't. Yugito even said so, but you're too stubborn to admit you were wrong. You men are all the same. Jumping to conclusions and won't admitting you're wrong at times"

"How dare you?!"

"No, Bakuto. She's right" Yugito said. "You need to think about the outcome of this mission. If we leave now with the way things are, just think how everyone will look at us. Do you want them to hate us more than what they do now?"

She gave her cutest look she could muster. Bakuto caved in and sighed.

"You're right. We need this to strengthen our bonds with other villages. I highly doubt the Hokage will listen after what just happened."

"Yuri patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, sweetie. Hokage-sama my look strict, but he's really nice and understanding. Just try to make a deal to repay him for this and he'll listen"

Bakuto sighed.

"Very well"

He glared at Mikomi and jabbed a finger at her.

"But if he wants an explanation of what happened, he'll want to know who was at fault at this"

Mikomi's eye twitched.

"Ok. One: don't point at me like that again. Two: You started all of this by thinking I was attacking your girlfriend when I wasn't. Three: You went all Jinchuriki first before I did. You're the one who's at fault here. You do the explaining"

"I will not be told what to do my some mere kunochi"

"You're girlfriend does a pretty good job at it. She must have you whipped"

"I AM NOT WHIPPED!"

"Bakuto, be quiet!" Yugito snapped.

"Yes, Yugito"

Mikomi made a whipping sound and pretended she was snapping a whip.

Bakuto glared at her.

"You are the most obnoxious woman I've ever meet"

"I could say the same about you. At least I don't jump to conclusions and attack people"

He got in her face while she did the same. They head butting each other it seemed like.

"You are a stupid little fox who thinks she's better than everyone else"

"And you're a damn dragon who not all there, likes to attacked innocent people, and his whipped by his girlfriend"

"I'm not whipped!"

She made the whipping sound again.

Lighting shot between their eyes as they glared at each other.

"Stupid fox"

"Damn dragon"

Everyone sweat dropped at the scene. Needless to say, that was when Mikomi made her first rival with someone.

Bakuto Masaki, the holder of the Ten winged dragon, Taimat no Draconis.

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**A/N: Aww, Mikomi made her first rival, isn't that sweet? I want to thank Bakuto Masaki for letting me use his character and his Jinchuriki. Hoped everyone liked that chapter. It'll be a while until I post the next one since a start college Monday. It's gonna suck, I just know it. **

**Remember to update. If you update, then the next chapter will come soon.**

**Ja ne.**


	19. Trying to get along

Chapter 19: Trying to get along

**A/N: I'm back! I was able to get some time to write this chapter up. Please ne warned that I took some stuff from Full Metal Panic Fumoffu to make this story funny, and because I thought it would fit the theme.**

**Hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own my oc's while Bakuto belongs to Bakuto Masaki.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

"**Taimat talking"**

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She really hated the situation that she was in now. It was all because of that know it all Bakuto that she was where she was at. She glared daggers at the carrier of the ten winged dragon. They had just left the Hokage's office from explaining why half of the forest was in shambles. It took everything in Yugito's power to try keeping Sarutobi calm. This alliance was very important to their villages and she was not going to let her boyfriend ruin this for her.

Sarutobi managed to stay calm and agreed to negotiate with over their alliance, but under one condition.

_Flash back_

_Yugito bowed deeply to Sarutobi. _

"_Please, Hokage- sama" she pleaded. "Please forgive me and my partner for what has happened. There was a misunderstanding between us and your Leaf shinobi that caused this to happen. We didn't mean for this to happen. We wish to strengthen our bonds with your village. What can we do to keep the alliance strong?"_

_Sarutobi looked at Yugito. He understood about the situation and knew it was an accident. But the village elders didn't agree with him. He knew he simply couldn't say it was alright and that they should never do it again. That was one of the flaws of being Hokage. He had to come up with a way that would make the elders happy and to strengthen their bond with Kumogakure._

_As he looked at the Jinchuriki's that were in his office, an idea came to him. He saw Mikomi and Bakuto having a glaring contest with each other. If he could get them to get along and work together for one week, then he could have the elders agree with the alliance._

"_I might have an idea that could help you with the situation that you are in. But I will need you and your partner's cooperation with what I have in mind"_

_Yugito nodded vigorously._

"_Anything you want Hokage-sama and we'll do it. Just say the word"_

_Sarutobi smiled. _

"_In order for two nations to work together, the citizen's must work with each other. Since you and your partner are Jinchuriki', I want you to work together with our Jinchuriki's. I'll let you work with Mikomi since this fight was between you three. You have one week to get along with each other or else the elders and I will have to pull out of the alliance. Understand?"_

_Yugito nodded._

"_Understood sir"_

_Mikomi and Bakuto weren't thrilled with the idea._

"_Oh hell no. I am not working with this pain in the ass" Mikomi said._

"_Likewise. I refuse to work with stupid little foxes who are do full of themselves" Bakuto added._

_Mikomi glared at him._

"_You're the one who's full of themselves" She pointed a finger at him. "You were the one who was showing off his Jinchuriki first. You were just trying to make yourself look good"  
"I simply wanted to end the battle with you" he retorted. "And since you wouldn't die, I thought I would do it the faster way and let Taimat do the job"_

_**Oh sure, let me do the dirty work" **__Taimat said annoyed._

_Bakuto didn't pay attention to his inner demon and just kept chewing Mikomi out._

"_It's your fault that we're in this mess. If didn't have those traps set around the border, then none of this would have happened"_

"_News flash. I wasn't the one who set those traps up. I didn't even know that there were traps around the border until I found your girlfriend. You should be grateful that I even found her in the first place. If it were somebody else, they would have left Yugito there to die from blood lose. You owe me"_

"_I owe you nothing. You almost killed Yugito when you activated that trap in the forest"  
"oh, for crying out –"_

"_Enough!" Sarutobi yelled._

_The two looked at Sarutobi as he gave them a stern stare._

"_This is why you will work together for a week. If you want this alliance to work, then you must work together and not fight with each other. Understood?"_

_Yugito gave them a pleading look._

"_Please? This will really help our village"_

_Both of them sweat dropped at this sight._

"_We do kind of owe them" __Usagi said. __"Yuri was the one who set up the traps in the first place. And Yugito was nice to you when she found out you were a Jinchuriki"_

"_**You know you can't refuse her" **__Taimat said.__** "You love her too much to refuse her. Plus, this is for the sake of our village. If you do this, the villagers will surely ease up on you and Yugito"**_

_The two sighed as they listened to their inner demons. They had a point. They would just have to get along for one week. Or at least try._

"_Fine" they said._

_Yugito smiled._

"_Thank you"_

_Sarutobi grinned as well._

"_Very well then, I'll let you have the rest of the day to get to know each other. Tomorrow, I'll have a task prepared for you to do for the rest of the week. You are dismissed"_

_End flashback_

So now, here she was. She had to deal with that pain in the ass dragon for one week just so Yugito could be happy.

"_I know I'll get along with Yugito. It's that pain in the ass, Bakuto that I'll have trouble with"_

"Just remember that it's only one week. I'm sure you can manage"

"_I just have to remember not to kill him. Or at least try"_

Usagi sighed at her.

"So… I take it you guys need a place to stay, right? My house has a lot of room and you're more than welcome to stay"

She didn't like the idea, but she had to do this for her mission.

Yugito grinned at her.

"We would be honored. Right, Bakuto?"

Bakuto sneered.

"I'd rather stay at a hotel than stay under the same roof with that stupid fox"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"Well there's a hotel down the road. If you'd rather waste your money on a room for a night than staying at my place for free, then by all means go ahead"

She stormed off with Yugito behind her. She gave her boyfriend a small smile.

"Let us know when you change your mind" she said before she left.

They went down one end of the road while Bakuto went down the other.

"If that bitch lays one hand on Yugito, then it'll be the last thing she ever did" Bakuto huffed as he went to the nearest hotel.

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Mikomi was actually glad that Yugito came with. She was really nice and she got along well with her friends. AVALANCE was surprised to see another Jinchuriki.

"So you're just like Mikomi, eh?" Cid said.

"Yes. I am the host of the two tailed cat"

Yugito was surprised that they weren't afraid of her. She had never met anyone who was alright with her being a Jinchuriki, except for Bakuto. Mikomi would just say that they were used to weird things.

During dinner, they started making plans for their mission they had to do for the week.

"So what do you think your Hokage will make us do?"

Mikomi shrugged.

"Who knows? That man is a mystery to me sometimes. He'll probably make us do work around the village or something that will make us work well together. I'll say this right now, I am not going to like working with that boyfriend of yours. No offense, but he really needs to lighten up and get his facts straight"

Yugito gave her an apologetic grin.

"I'm sorry about that. He's usually calm and relax. He was just worried about me, that's all"

"Yeah, well that's a good trait to have for a boyfriend. I wish I had a guy like that"

Cloud choked over his drink as he heard that. His mind suddenly went to Kakashi.

"_Note to self: Must kill scarecrow"_

He quickly made his plans amongst the other guys as they planned to kill Kakashi so he wouldn't be near Mikomi. They even thought of a plan for of the men they meet while they were here. There was no way they were going to let their Mikomi be with some guy that they didn't like.

The girls didn't pay attention to them at all.

"So, Yugito. Since you'll be here for a week. Why don't we all hang out and get to know each other?" Tifa suggested.

"Yeah, we could go shopping and stuff" Yuffie said.

"Or we could go to the bar and do body shots" Yuri offered.

Everyone gave her a weird look.

"What? That what I do for fun"

Mikomi just waved them off.

"Let's just try to get to know each other first and then we'll work from their"

"Sounds like a plan. I tell Bakuto tomorrow and we'll work things out"

"That is, if that pain in the ass wants to work. I can just tell that he doesn't care about this mission at all. He only went because you were going, correct?"

"Well… Bakuto doesn't like it when I'm away from him for too long. Plus, he said he didn't mind as long as I went with. He'd never say no when I ask him for something"

"He is totally whipped"

A kunai flew through the widow and embedded in the wall behind her.

"Ah! We're being attacked!" Naruto shouted.

He ducked under the table to hide.

Mikomi pulled out the kunai and found a note attached to it.

"What's this?"

She pulled it off and read what was inside.

The word 'bitch' was written on it and had a horrible drawing of her with fox ears and a tail.

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"That damn dragon"

She went outside and pulled out her guns. She loaded a few bullets in them and started shooting all over the place.

"You wanna play these games you damn dragon? Well let's play!"

She fired at the trees when she saw his figure. He jumped away and ran into the town.

"Don't run from me you damn dragon!"

She ran after him and kept firing her guns. Vincent ran out of the house and went after her.

"Mikomi, get back here! You don't know how to use guns properly yet and you could hurt someone!"

Yuri sighed as she looked through the window.

"Isn't that cute? Mikomi just made a rival yesterday and she's already trying to kill him. How sweet"

Everyone just gave her a weird look and thought of the same thing.

"_She's scary"_

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Sarutobi looked at Bakuto and Mikomi. They had cuts and bruises covering their bodies. Let's just say that the fight got a little ugly and Vincent had to end it the hard way. His gloved gauntlet hurt like hell.

"_This isn't going well" _He thought.

He just hoped this mission would fix things up between them.

"I have the perfect mission for you two" He said. "Our village caretaker, Mr. Oyozuki, has fallen ill. You're mission is to help Mr. Oyozuki and do what he tells you to do. You'll be taking care of the village and doing repairs"

"How will this strengthen our bond for the alliance?" Mikomi asked.

"You will have to work together on some things. Plus, Mr. Oyozuki will be watching you to see how well you cooperate with each other on these tasks. If he sees that you can't work well together, then the alliance is off. Understand?"

They both gave each other a dirty look but agreed.

"Good. Now I want you to go to Mr. Oyozuki's home and do what he says, you are dismissed"

They both left quietly. Once they were out of ear shot, they rounded out on each other.

"Listen here, you stupid fox. I'm only doing this because Yugito asked me. If you screw this up for me then I will personally kill you myself"

"I'm willing to work with you so long as you get that bug out your ass. What Yugito sees in you is beyond me. Just try to ease up a little while you're here. You're really killing my mood with that serious look you always wear"

"This world has no time for foolishness" he said seriously. "The only way to survive in this harsh world that we call life, you must take your role as ninja seriously. Any mistake or foolish act could be the end of you."

She just sweat dropped.

"_This guy is way too serious for his own good"_

"We'll just have to get use to it"

"Anyway, let's get to Mr. Oyozuki's before he chews us out for being late. I don't care how serious you are, but I'm not letting you ruin this mission for me."

"Likewise. I take my missions seriously and I'm not going to let a stupid fox like you ruin it for me"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"You're really starting to get on me nerves. Let's just pretend to get along for this one week and then you can go back to being your serious self, ok?"

"I'm willing to work if you are"

"Fine"

"Fine"

They both looked at each other for a moment then stormed off to Mr. Oyozuki's house to see who would get there first.

So far they weren't working well together.

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Mr. Oyozuki was a kind and gentle man who loved his village. He would get up every day just to make the village look beautiful than it was the day before. Everyone used love his work. They would all have smiles on their faces as they saw what he had done. But lately, it seemed that no one cared about the work he did. All they cared about was becoming a ninja and getting high ranking missions from the Hokage. People just didn't act like they used to. They were more into violence than into peace. It simply broke his heart. If only it were like the good old days where people weren't fighting one another and helping.

He was brought out of his thoughts when he heard someone barging through his door.

Mikomi and Bakuto struggled through the door to see who would get in first. They kept shoving and pushing each other out of the way so they could get through the door. They kept fighting each other until they were able to get inside. As soon as they were inside, they were right in Mr. Oyozuki's face.

"Mr. Oyozuki, are ok?"

"Do you need anything?"

"How are you feeling?"

Mr. Oyozuki was beyond terrified. He was afraid of ninja's and now there were two of them in his home.

"Who are you? What are you doing in my house? You're not one of those people who like to do nasty things to old people are you?"

Mikomi and Bakuto just gave each other weird looks.

"I don't think he knows what's going on" Bakuto said.

"We're not here to hurt you or do anything that's stuck in that messed up mind of yours" Mikomi added.

"We were given orders by the Hokage to help you while you get better. So you just relax and take it easy while we do whatever you say"

Oyozuki looked at them surprised.

"You're here…to help me?"

"That's right sir, just tell us what to do and we'll do it"

Tears pooled up in the old man's eyes. He grabbed their hands and shook them fiercely.

"Thank you children, thank you! In the past 30 years that I've work for this village, I've never seen such devoted you souls. You've eased my aching heart with this service"

"Not a problem sir. You just tell me what to do and I, Mikomi Uzumaki, will get it done for you"

Bakuto shoved her out of the way.

"Don't listen to that annoying little fox. I, Bakuto Masaki, will take care of everything"

Mikomi shoved him back.

"No, Mikomi Uzumaki"

"Bakuto Masaki"

"Mikomi"

"Bakuto"

"Mikomi!"

They had a shoving match for a few seconds. Oyozuki was at a loss for words as he helplessly watched the two fight.

"Oh, I bet you're hungry. Hang on, I'll make you something"

Mikomi quickly went into the kitchen and started preparing his meal.

"Leave it to me. You'll just give the poor man food poisoning" Bakuto said.

There was a crashing sound and things flying in the air. The two had a shouting match to tell who would make Mr. Oyozuki's dinner and who would fix his bed for him.

Oyozuki watched as his kitchen became a war zone.

"Oh, my"

Needless to say. That was how day one turned out for the alliance mission.

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_Next day_

Yuri sighed as she sat on one of the buildings. Since Mikomi had that mission to do, she was out doing whatever Mr. Oyozuki wanted her to do. It was really boring without her around. She tried to spend time with Naruto, but he was busy training. And cloud and the guys tired to hide from her due to the fact that they were freaked out when she told them all of the things she did when she was a Yankee. She guessed that telling them what drugs she used as a teen wasn't a good idea for first impressions.

Sighing, she looked at the streets and found Mikomi fixing a worn bench. She smiled at the sight.

"Aww, my 'Komi-chan is doing something good for her village"

Just then, Bakuto ran up and kicked her tool box out of the way.

"Out of the way you stupid fox, I'm fixing this"

Mikomi pulled out her guns which she named Tsuin Mitsugo and started shooting at him.

"Up yours you damn dragon! I was here first so go somewhere else!"

They started fighting and managed to wreck the bench in the process. They both looked at it and ran away.

Yuri sweat dropped at the sight.

"Or maybe not"

She jumped off and landed on her feet. "I might as well look at the things that she managed to fix and break".

She didn't have to look to long. Everywhere she looked said trouble all over it. The walls were splattered with paint, the fences were nailed up wrong, and there were areas that had bullet marks and sword cuts.

Grabbing the bridge of her nose, she tried to stay calm and not lose her temper.

"Relax Yuri. You've seen worse with Jiraiya. I's sure there's a logical reason why this happening"

Mr. Oyozuki walked by and saw the mess.

"Oh dear! My poor village! It's in shambles!"

Yuri went up to the old man and patted him. He was usually as calm as a cucumber, but when he lost his temper, it was like stepping into a horror flick.

"Hey there Mr. Oyozuki. I bet you're wondering what's going on?"

"Of course I want to know what's going on! All the work I've put in to make this village beautiful is ruined! Oh, why must those two argue over things?"

"I'm wondering the same thing. Why don't l go talk to them and find out?"

"You do that, and then send them over to my place so I can give them a serious lecture"

"Will do Mr. Oyozuki"

She walked off and followed the trail of destruction that her goddaughter made.

Yugito ran into and looked afraid.

"Oh, thank goodness I found you, Yuri-san"  
"Hey, Yugito. What's up?"

"Oh, it's horrible. Bakuto and Mikomi are making a mess. We tried to do all of the tasks that Mr. Oyozuki asked us to do, but they just won't stop fighting. They're making such a mess and if they don't work with each other then our alliance will be ruined! Our village will be in danger and we'll be done for!"

Yuri tried to calm down the distressed girl.

"Calm down, Yugito. I'll go talk to them and get this straightened out. Just head on back to Mr. Oyozuki's and do whatever he asks you to do"

The cloud ninja nodded and headed off to the old man's home.

Yuri's face turned grim.

"You're in big trouble when I get my hands on you Mikomi Kushina Uzumaki"

She stalked off in an unknown direction with the intention of finding her goddaughter.

Cid walked by her with his body covered in paint. The pilot looked pissed off as he put a cigarette in his mouth.

He looked at Yuri for a second and knew what she wanted.

"She's back there" he pointed behind him. "Cloud and Vincent are trying to break it up. She has her guns on her so be careful"

Nodding her head in thanks, she went off. She could heat shouting up ahead as she got closer.

The scene she saw was very unpleasant in the very least.

Cloud held Mikomi back while Vincent was doing the same with Bakuto. Mikomi tried to fire her guns at the dragon but Cloud was ripping them from her hands.

"Knock it off, Mikomi! You're being childish!" Cloud shouted over the yelling.

"I am not!" Mikomi retorted. "He's the one who's childish. He doesn't want to get along with anyone"

"I get along well with everyone!" Bakuto said. "I just don't get along with people who have their heads up in the clouds all day and think everything is a game"

"I'm not like that!"

She tried to get out of Cloud's grasp, but he held on tight. She tried to grab her guns again.

"Give me my guns, Cloud. I'm gonna bust a cap in that jerks ass"

"No. You don't use guns to hurt people. You don't even know how to use one properly"

"If you give them to me, I'll practice. I'll even use that damn dragon as a target"

Everyone kept fighting and shouting at each other for a good five minutes before Yuri intervened.

"ENOUGH!!!"

Her voice echoed was so loud that it almost echoed through the whole village. Everyone froze what they were doing. Yuri stepped in between the two and glared at them. Mikomi gulped when Yuri looked at her.

"Mikomi Kushina Uzumaki"

She flinched as her middle name was used.

"I am very disappointed in you. You're supposed to be one of the greatest ninjas in the village and here you are, fighting with a fellow ninja while you're on a mission. I would have expected this childish behavior from Naruto, but not from you. You have not only brought shame to your village but to your family as well. Your father would be very disappointed in you if he were here"

Mikomi felt her heart being stab. That was low of her to bring her dad into this when she knew that mentioning about him was a touchy subject.

Bakuto smirked as he saw Mikomi get chewed out.

"_Serves her right"_

"And you" Yuri whirled on him.

"You're here to represent your village and try to make an alliance with another nation. Your village is counting on you and Yugito to carry out this mission without fail. You know this mission means a lot to Yugito and yet you're here, fighting with someone who's just like you"

She looked at both of them.

"You're both Jinchuriki for goodness sake! You need to work together and bond together. People like you need to stick together through everything. For the toughest times and for the easiest. If you treat each other this badly, then you're no better than the villagers who fear you. Do you want to be hated so much that your own kind won't look at you?"

They didn't say anything and just looked at the ground. What Yuri said was true. They really didn't have anyone else like them. If they wanted to be accepted by anyone, they had to accept each other first.

Looking at each other reluctantly, they decided to come to a mutual agreement.

"I guess I was being a little too serious about this whole thing" Bakuto admitted reluctantly.

"And I guess I wasn't taking this mission too seriously" Mikomi said as she scratched the back of her head. Cloud and Vincent let them go when they felt that they wouldn't attack each other, but they were on guard in case they started again.

Yuri brought them together.

"Now shake hands, you two. From here on out, you'll be getting along with each other weither you like it or not. You're both Jinchuriki and you need to stick together. If people won't accept you for who you are, then why don't you settle with accepting each other?"

They just looked at each other.

"Yuri does have a point" Usagi said. "It isn't everyday that we find someone like us. Isn't it nice to know that you're not the only one with something inside of you?"

Taimat was the same with Bakuto.

"**Be friends with the girl" **the dragon chided. "**You've been without friends for so long. You need someone who will watch your back for you and make sure you stay alive. Sure, you have Yugito, but she doesn't have to be your only friend. You can have more than one. You need it, especially with that big chip on your shoulder"**

Both just sighed at their inner self's logic. They did have a point, even though they didn't want to admit it. They thought it would be better to listen to them rather than argue with them.

"Fine, I'll work with you" Mikomi said. "But I won't like it"

"I'll try to do the same" Bakuto added. "But don't expect anything grand from me"

They both shook hands to seal the agreement between them.

Yuri smiled.

"Now that we have this all settled, you two get to clean up the mess that you made in the village. And then you get to go to Mr. Oyozuki and get a serious lecture from him"

The groaned. One lecture was enough for them.

Yuri skipped away with Cloud and Vincent behind her. If they weren't needed, then there was no point staying.

Mikomi and Bakuto went back to the village and started cleaning up the mess that they made.

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_Two days later_

Mikomi and Bakuto kept their word and managed to get along for the last two days. Bakuto even stayed at her house just to prove the point. It was better than staying at a hotel and having to pay for every night. But Mikomi would be a little strict on him when it came to hogging up all of the hot water when he showered, but other than that, she was as calm as a cucumber.

The two were currently sitting in the living room with their swords in their laps. Today was known as 'sharpening weapons day' in the Uzumaki household and everyone who had a sharp weapon of some sort was sharpening their blades until it could cut through paper.

Mikomi had her sword in her lap as she polished her blade. She like it when it was so shinny that she could see her face on the blade.

Despite its beauty ,it still didn't have a name. She thought it was sad really. Everyone named their weapons and yet hers didn't have one. She almost felt like she was neglecting it.

"I think my sword needs a name" She said.

Cid looked up from what he was doing to his Venus Gospel.

"What would you want to that all of a sudden?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know, I guess since you named your weapons, I thought it would be good to name mine. I can't just leave it nameless, it's a part of me"

Cid just shrugged at her and went back to his spear.

"Do have anything in mind?" Cloud asked.

"No. But I want it to be something cool. Something that gives it strength and meaning"

"Kougiken" Bakuto suddenly said.

Mikomi looked at him.

"Huh?"

"It means 'justice blade'. You said you want it to have a strong name"

Mikomi looked at her sword. It did have a justice vibe coming off of it, plus, it had such power to it.

"Kougiken has a nice ring to it" She said. "I like it"

She smiled at him.

"Thanks"

He shrugged and went back to his katanas.

"Do your swords have names?"

He nodded.

"Their names are Tempiryuu and Tsukiryuu. Tempiryuu is the white one and Tsukiryuu is the black one"

She got a closer look at them. Now that she saw them without trying to avoid them, she had to admit that they were very beautiful swords. Not a single speak was present on each blade. Both were well kept and looked like they were brand new.

"They're beautiful"

"Thank you" He said as he put them away.

Mikomi mulled something over for a moment.

"So what are we going to do for Mr. Oyozuki? Tomorrow is the last day that we work for him so he'll probably expect something big of us"

"Why don't we make him something special to eat or something? He still hasn't given us his lecture yet so why don't we just butter him up with food?"

"That sounds like a good idea. I have the perfect meal in mind, but I'll need your help with it"

"What do you need me to do?"

"Well..."

She started whispering her idea to him. He would occasionally nod at the parts that he agreed on. They set their plan in motion to make the Mr. Oyozuki proud and to seal the deal on their alliance.

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Mr. Oyozuki looked at the two ninjas. He had given them a serious lecture about teamwork a few minutes ago and showed how upset he was over the mess they made over the village. Even though his lecture wasn't as bad as Yuri's they still listened to him, or pretended to. They already knew what he had to say and though it was pointless to hear it a second time.

"We're terribly sorry for what we did, Mr. Oyozuki" Mikomi bowed.

"You should be" Mr. Oyozuki said. "You ruined the village that I've been taking care of for the past 30 years in just over a week. I'm not asking you two to get along, I just want you to work together to get the job done"

"But sir, that's what we've been doing just now" Bakuto said.

"What?"

"We made dinner for you, sir"

Mikomi held up a plate that held food.

"Tonight's dinner is fish in Miso"

"I prepared the ingredients, and Mikomi cooked it" Bakuto said.

Mr. Oyozuki took a bite out of the fish.

"Oh, my. It's good"

He took another bite out of and another. Bakuto and Mikomi smiled.

"I knew you two could do it if you tried" Mr. Oyozuki said after another mouthful of fish.

"By the way, what kind of fish is this? I've never had it before" he asked as he went to take another bite.

"It's Koi"

He froze as he heard that, the fish just inches from his mouth.

"It's Koi?" He repeated as he lowered his chopsticks.

"Yeah, it's from the pond behind here" Mikomi said.

"Man, it was huge" Bakuto said.

"It put up quite a fight"

"Yeah, it took me forever to kill it"

They didn't notice Mr. Oyozuki got up from his seat and faced his closet until he spoke.

"You two" he said in a calm yet creepy way. "That Koi was…"

"It was what?" Mikomi asked.

"That Koi. I've spent the last 15 years of my life taking care, and I mean good care in raising that Koi. She was like a granddaughter to me, that's the kind of Koi she was"

"Oh" Bakuto said uneasily.

Mr. Oyozuki opened up his closet and pulled out something.

"Her name was Koyuki. I named her after this one particular actress"

He pulled out a chainsaw from the depths of his closet.

"So you caught her? And it took forever to kill her? And what's more, after doing all of these things, you feed her to me? Is that correct?"

"That's correct, sir" Mikomi said in a shaky voice.

Mr. Oyozuki rubbed his chainsaw.

"I think I finally understand now. You don't have the slightest bit of good intentions. The only thing in you two is shear maliciousness "

They both gulped nervously.

"Sir?"

The chainsaw roared to life. An evil aura covered Mr. Oyozuki.

"I must avenge the death of my sweet Koyuki" He said in a strange demonic voice. The lights went out. The two were going into panic mode. The chain on the chainsaw spun around and around.

"It's too bad that you'll have to die Mikomi and Bakuto"

Now they were in full panic mode as they saw the evil glow in the old man's eyes. He laughed like a creepy clown would in a horror film.

"Die!"

He jumped into the air and swung his chainsaw down.

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Gunshots filled the night air as Mikomi fired his gun at Mr. Oyozuki. He ran after her life a phantom and dodged her bullets. He laughed like a maniac as he went to cut her head off.

"Get down!"

Bakuto shoved her down and blocked the chainsaw with his swords. Mikomi quickly got up on her feet.

"Thanks"

"Don't mention it"

Oyozuki pulled his chainsaw back and swung it around like a mad man. Bakuto jumped out of the way and started running. Mikomi followed his example and ran with him.

"How could you not know that was his pet?!" Bakuto shouted as they ran.

"How was I supposed to know? I didn't see a collar on it, besides, it was dying anyway"

"Well, thanks to your 'brilliant' plan, he's out to kill us. And where the hell did he get a chainsaw from?"

"I don't know, but I do know that I'm not going to die by an old geezer"

"Neither am I, so run!"

They both ran as fast as their legs could carry them. It proved to be pointless sine Mr. Oyozuki was in crazy mode and had crazy powers at the moment.

Yugito came out of nowhere and was beyond confused.

"Bakuto? Mikomi? What in the world is going o-"

Bakuto grabbed her arm and pulled her with them.

"Oyozuki's snapped!" Mikomi screamed.

"That stupid fox feed his pet Koi to him and now he wants revenge" Bakuto explained.

"What?!"

"I know it sound crazy, but it's true"

Oyozuki appeared in front of them.

"Got ya!"

He swung his chainsaw down. Mikomi blocked it with Kougiken's sheath.

"I'll take care of him. Go get Yuri and tell her what's going on"

Yugito ran as fast as she could. Bakuto stayed behind and drew out his swords.

"What are you doing here, you damn dragon? I told you to run"

Bakuto pushed Oyozuki away before he could swipe Mikomi's sword away.

"Idiot, if I left you alone with this guy you would get killed on the spot. If you're going to fight him, then at least have backup with you"

Mikomi was speechless.

"Wow. You really do care"

"Shut up! I'm not that heartless that I would let a fellow Jinchuriki get killed. What Yuri said was true, we need to stick together"

Mikomi was touched.

Oyozuki shouted like a maniac.

"Koyuki! I will avenge you!"

Bakuto grabbed Mikomi's arm and ran before Oyozuki could do anything to them.

"What do we do?" Mikomi asked as they ran.

"I don't know. We'll just hide until Yuri comes to save us"

"I don't think hiding will work with Oyozuki cutting everything down"

"Then we'll fight him until we get help"

"I'm not fighting that nut job!"

A tick mark appeared on Bakuto's forehead.

"Then what do you have in mind, you stupid fox?"

Mikomi thought for a moment before she came up with an idea.

"I got it!"

She four kunai knives and made a square. She quickly performed a set of handsigns.

"Raiton: Electric Field!"

Oyozuki stepped within the square and got electrocuted. He screamed in pain as electricity went through his body.

"Got him!" Mikomi said.

Much to her horror, Oyozuki managed to withstand the electricity and jump out of the square.

"You evil demon!"

He swung at her so fast that she hardly had any time to react. Bakuto shoved her out of the way at the last second and got his stomach cut open.

"Bakuto!"

He fell to his knees and held his bleeding stomach.

"I-it's nothing. Now run before he gets you"

Mikomi stayed rooted to the spot. She was afraid to be near Oyozuki, but she wasn't going to let her rival face this crazy man by himself when he was in critical condition. Clenching her fists, she ran at him.

"Nobody picks on my rival but me!"

She performed flash step and started attacking the old man at lightning speed. Oyozuki had a hard time trying to hit her when she went so fast. Bakuto was amazed by her speed.

"Think you can keep up with me old man?"

She lost her footing and twisted her ankle. Oyozuki took this opportunity and got her in her back. She held back a scream and she felt the tiny blades go into her skin. She fell in a heap next to Bakuto and cringed in pain.

"You idiot" Bakuto said.

Mikomi gave him a painful grin.

"I'm not going to let an old man kill off my rival" she rasped. "If we live through this, then we're going back as rivals. I don't want us to get along if this is how it ends up"

Bakuto just looked at her.

"You're so strange"

"It's better than being normal. Life would be boring then"

Bakuto cringed as he held his stomach.

"I don't think I can hold out much long"

Mikomi had to agree.

"Same here. I can hardly move at all. It looks like we're clocking out early"

Mr. Oyozuki held his chainsaw high in the air.

"Say your prayers you vile demons!"

The two Jinchuriki's looked at each other.

"See ya, stupid fox"

"It was fun while it lasted, damn dragon"

The chainsaw swung down. They both closed their eyes, waiting for the impact that would end their lives. Instead, they heard the sound of metal hitting against metal.

Mikomi cracked her eye open to see how had halted their killer. Her eyes shot open when she saw Cloud standing protectively in front of her with his Buster Sword blocking Oyozuki's chainsaw.

"Cloud!"

The blonde looked behind him to see her back cut open and had blood pouring out of it. He cursed inwardly for coming too late.

"Don't worry you two, I got him"

Oyozuki became enraged.

"How dare you get in the way of my revenge?"

He went to swing his chainsaw at him, only to suddenly stop and fall flat on his face. Yuri stood over him with a syringe in hand.

"Geez, I forgot about Oyozuki going nuts like that" she said.

She glanced at her goddaughter to see her trying to get up, only to fall back down from the pain.

"Mikomi! Are you ok?"

Cloud helped her up and had her lean on him. She sent her godmother a weak glare.

"Do I look like I'm ok?"

She swayed a little from being lightheaded.

Yugito ran up to Bakuto and hugged him tightly.

"Bakuto! What happened? Are you alright?"

He flinched as she hit his wound but hugged her back.

"I'm fine. I just got cut by that crazy old man"

Yugito looked at his cut and panicked.

"Oh my god!"

"He saved me from being cut in two" Mikomi said. "I would be dead right now if he didn't"

Yugito looked at her boyfriend.

"You mean…you're getting along now?"

Bakuto just sighed as he held his stomach.

"Yeah, we're starting to. But we're still rivals"

Tears welled up in his girlfriends eyes.

"Oh, I'm so happy!"

She hugged him tightly.

"You're finally taking my advice and made a friend. I'm so proud of you!"

Bakuto tried to keep a calm face as she pressed into his wound. If it were anyone else, he would yell at them and shoved them away. But since this was his girlfriend, he tolerated the pain.

Mikomi smiled slightly at the sight. Her head started to spin as she kept losing blood.

"Hey Yuri" she slurred slightly from the blood loss.

"Do you think you could patch us up? I feel really dizzy right now and I can't see straight"

She slumped into Cloud's grip to prove a point. Cloud readjusted his grip on her and pressed his hand onto her wound to stop the bleeding.

Yuri sighed as she pulled out her stitching needle.

"That girl is a magnet for injuries" she said as she began to fix the two.

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They both stood in front of the Hokage's desk the next day. They had their heads bowed down so they wouldn't have to look at the old man in the eye. They knew he would find out about what happened yesterday with Mr. Oyozuki. They just whished that they could get out of this. With this event, their chances of having an alliance were gone. Sure, they were able to work together, but they nearly destroyed half of the village from fighting Mr. Oyozuki.

Sarutobi didn't say anything for five minutes. The silence was weighing down on the two Jinchuriki's. Mikomi finally had enough of the silence and broke.

"Hokage-sama….about what happened yesterday" she began.

Sarutobi waved her off.

"Save your breath, you two. I got an explanation already"

They both looked at him.

"You did?"

"Yes. Yuri told me that Mr. Oyozuki went a little crazy yesterday due to a side effect to his medication"

They both looked at him confused.

"Yuri said she gave him so medicine for his cold and gave him the wrong kind that made him go crazy. She also said that you were both trying to calm him down but were forced to use physical measure to stop him"

They didn't know what to say. Yuri covered for them just so their mission wouldn't be ruined? Fate was on their side today.

Mikomi quickly played along with the fib.

"Ah, y-yeah. We didn't how to calm him down since we're not medics. And since talking to him wouldn't work, we were force to use brute strength. It was sad really"

Bakuto followed her plan.

"I know it isn't right for a foreign ninja to attack a civilian for another nation. But if I didn't do anything, then Mikomi would have seriously gotten hurt, or worse killed. I hope you can forgive me for what I've done"

Sarutobi grinned at them.

"I'm glad to see that you two are finally getting along. Perhaps it was a good thing that this happened. Since you both worked so well together this week. I'll comply with the alliance between your villages. You've made your village proud for what you've done"

Bakuto bowed to him.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama. Yugito and I are truly grateful of you"

"That's good to know. You are free to go and enjoy the rest of your day"

They both left his office and sighed with relief.

"Boy that was close" Mikomi.

"You're telling me. Yugito would have killed me if we didn't get this alliance"

Mikomi patted his shoulder.

"Well I'm glad that everything worked out for both of us. You're not half bad once people get to know you"

Bakuto gave her a small grin.

"I could say the same about you. But just because we work well doesn't mean we'll be friends. You'll be my rival no matter what"

Mikomi gave him an evil grin.

"I couldn't have said it better myself you damn dragon"

They walked out of the office and headed back home to recuperate from yesterday's ordeal.

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_Next day_

Yugito and Bakuto stood near the village gates.

"Thank you so much for what you've done for us" Yugito said.

"It was no big deal" Mikomi said. "I'll always help a fellow ally in need"

She gave her a hug and looked at Bakuto, who was staring at the street.

"Do you want a hug good-bye or are you too good for one"

Bakuto gave her a mock glare.

"As if I would want to be hugged by a stupid fox like you. I don't want to catch your stupidity"

Yugito went to scolded him but stopped when she heard Mikomi laughed. She wiped away the tears that formed in her eyes.

"That's the response I was looking for from my rival. Don't ever change that"

"As if I would listen to you, stupid fox. I'm just glad that we'll be back home where I'm far away from you"

"I'll miss you too, you damn dragon"

Bakuto managed to let a smirk appear on his face.

"You guys have a safe trip now. Don't be strangers"

Yugito waved good-bye and walked away. Bakuto took a step to leave then stopped. He looked over his shoulder and gave her a dragon like grin.

"Don't get yourself killed now, stupid fox. The only way you'll die is by my hand"

Mikomi gave him the finger as her way as a thumbs up.

"Don't worry you damn dragon. I'm not that easy to kill"

"Good. Cause it would be so boring if it were"

"You be safe now"

He waved good-bye and caught up with his girlfriend.

Mikomi sighed.

"_For some strange reason, I'm gonna miss that guy"_

"Don't worry. This won't be the last of him we'll see. Once a Jinchuriki encounters another Jinchuriki, they stick together. We'll be seeing him soon"

And Usagi was right. After that week, Mikomi saw Bakuto Masaki a lot more than usual.

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**A/N: So there you go. Sorry it took so long to update, but you know how college is. **

**I want to give a special thanks to Bakuto Masaki for letting me use his character and for giving me names for Mikomi's weapons.**

**We'll be seeing Bakuto again soon. After all, he's Mikomi's ideal rival.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter.**

**Ja ne.**


	20. Sexy Jutsu

Chapter 20: Sexy Jutsu

**A/N: Here's chapter twenty. It took me a while to think of this one. Plus, college has been a real pain with all of the homework I get. Luckily, I was able to write this up when I has spare time, so enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, Final Fantasy 7 or Bakuto Masaki so you'll have to deal with it. I do however own Mikomi and Yuri so you can't have them!**

**This chapter will mostly be about Naruto, rather than Mikomi. He hasn't had much show time, so I'm giving him some.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

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A life as a ninja was filled with danger. Each day someone would die due a failed mission or getting killed by the enemy. Each day had to be treated as if it were a last day for a shinobi. The world didn't tolerate the weak. If you wanted to survive, you had to be strong; otherwise you would wind up dead.

This was the world that Mikomi and Naruto faced each day. It wasn't glamorous, but at least it gave them something to do with their lives.

Being an Anbu wasn't great either. At least to Mikomi at least.

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The sound of metal being put on filled Mikomi's room. She tied on the breastplate that made up her armor. Today she had an Anbu mission and was not happy about it. She was proud to be part of Anbu Black Ops, it was just the missions that she hated. She always got the killing or assassination ones and nothing else. Killing people really wasn't her thing. But, sadly she was the best at it. Hench why she always got them.

She pulled her hair back up into a ponytail and grabbed her Anbu mask. It resembled the face of a fox with intricate designs painted on it. She would have preferred the dog one but Kakashi had it. The fox one just reminded her that Usagi slept within her.

"_The village is just mocking me"_

Picking up Kougiken, she left her room and headed downstairs for breakfast. She also had to remind Yuri to leave out the first aid box for when she came back from her mission.

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Yuri stood near the stove making breakfast. If there was one thing that everyone knew about Yuri, it was to never let her cook. The last time she made food, it hissed at them and they all became deadly ill. She hummed to some tune the she had in her head while she failed to pay attention to what she was cooking.

Naruto looked scared as he saw what his godmother was making. She was supposed to make eggs, but they somehow became burnt.

"I don't want to eat Yuri's cooking" he whispered to Cid. "I'm scared"

"If there's one advantage to smoking, it's that you lose your sense of taste" the pilot said.

Cloud was smart enough to have eaten before Yuri got up. His stomach was still in a knot from eating her chicken noodle casserole.

Mikomi came into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"What's with the getup?" Cid asked as he motioned to her Anbu uniform.

"I have an Anbu mission that I have to fulfill" she said sourly.

Naruto didn't like seeing his sister in her Anbu uniform. If she wore that then it meant that she had to do a very dangerous mission. And if she had to do a very dangerous mission, then that meant she would get seriously hurt. She always did.

Yuri took a glance at her.

"I'll go get the first aid kit ready" she said.

Mikomi rolled her eyes. Sure, she wanted the first aid kit ready, but Yuri's first aid kit was a bit much.

The medic came back with a giant first aid kit that was about the same size as a tool box.

"Isn't this a bit much?" Mikomi asked. "You didn't have this much stuff when I got hurt last time"

"Well, I just wanted to be prepared" Yuri said "You're just an accident waiting to happen"

"I am not"

Yuri pulled out a tiny notebook from her trench coat.

"June 16: dislocated arm, fractured rib, 12 stitches"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault. Guy got in the way and made me step in a trap. Where did you get that book anyway?"

"I've been recording your injuries. It lets me know which injuries you've suffered the worse. Like this one: August 12: cracked skull, broken leg and nose"

"That wasn't serious. I was just having a bad day with one of my subordinates and it got out of hand"

"December 3: Punctured lung due to lose icicle. Frost bite from shoulders down. Suffered hypothermia"

"That was when I was in the Land of Snow. Besides, that was years ago"

"Then let's try a more recent one. September 4: internal injuries, head trauma, and chest wound"

"Jezz, you're just a magnet for injures" Cid said.

"So I've been told" Mikomi sighed.

Not having much of an appetite, especially since Yuri was cooking, she grabbed her mask and went to leave.

"I'll try to get back before dinner. If I'm not back by then, I left money for you to order out"

"Please come back safely, Nee-chan" Naruto said.

She gave her brother a soft smile.

"Don't worry, Naruto. I always do"

She kissed him on the forehead and put her mask on.

"I'm off then"

She disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

Yuri went back to the stove and retrieved her so called eggs.

"So who wants breakfast?"

The eggs looked like they had seen better days. Naruto and Cid just gulped nervously as they were put on their plates.

"I wish Nee-chan made breakfast" Naruto whispered to Cid.

"Same here, kid. Same here"

They both made a silent prayer to get them through this meal before they dug in.

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Naruto held his stomach as he walked through the village. Eating Yuri's breakfast wasn't such a good idea. Cid was becoming great friends with the toilet right about now. They should have followed Cloud's idea and ate beforehand.

Speaking of Cloud, he saw the chocobo head up ahead.

"Hey, Cloud!"

He saw the young blonde running up to him.

"What's up, Naruto?"

Naruto ginned at him.

"Nothing. I ate Yuri's food, so now I'm feeling sick to my stomach"

"You should have eaten beforehand"  
"I know. But at least I learned a lesson. So did Cid. He has a date with the toilet"

Cloud just shook his head.

"So what are you up to?"

"Nothing really. I was just waiting to see if Vincent or Barret would want to spar. I've been getting rusty with my moves lately"

"Oh, can I come? Please? Please? Please?"

He gave him the puppy dog look that Mikomi did when she wanted something. Cloud just sweat dropped and complied. It was not like he could just say no to him. He would have went anyway.

"Alright, just don't do anything stupid"

"Yay!"

He pulled the older blonde by the hand.

"Come on. I know the perfect place to train"

Cloud looked foolish with Naruto dragging him. But since no one knew him in this world, it was nothing to be embarrassed about.

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They made it to the training grounds that Naruto used when he was tested by Kakashi. It held fond memories for him. It was also the best place to train.

"Here we are. This is where the best ninja's come to train. You don't get stronger unless you train here"

Cloud had to admit that it was pretty impressive. The area was large enough where he could move freely without any trouble. Plus it had enough trees to use for hiding.

Naruto sat on a tree branch that looked over the whole field.

"Just call your friends and you're ready to go"

Cloud picked up his cell phone and went to dial Vincent's number.

"What's that?" Naruto asked as he pointed to the phone.

"It's my phone. I use it if I want to call somebody"

"Can't you just summon? That's what we do"

"I can summon. But mine aren't the type that are used for messages. They're only used for battle"

"Nee-chan has a few of those, only they're dogs"

"I know. I've seen one of them"

Naruto swung on the branch that he was on.

"So…are you good friends with my sister?"

Cloud shrugged.

"I guess so. She's like a sister to me"

"Do you know my sister well?"

"Yeah, I would say that I do. I know that she has a demon inside of her"

Naruto frowned at the mention of that. Cloud didn't fail to notice.

"But I don't see her any differently. She's still her and nothing will change that. She just a normal girl living a normal life. Well, for a ninja at least"

Naruto jumped from his branch. He stuck his hands into his pockets.

"There's nothing normal about us" He mumbled. "Everyone in the village thinks so"

Cloud ruffled his hair.

"That's their loss. They should know that there is no such thing as perfect. Where I'm from, normal doesn't exist"

Naruto looked up at him.

"Really?"

"Yep. We have tons of monsters running around and we have airships that fly"

"Do you have ramen stands?"

"Not really"

"You're right, your home isn't normal"

A smirk appeared on the SOULDER's lips. He reminded him of a certain old friend of his.

Naruto looked at him hopefully.

"Hey, is it ok if I call you Ni-san?"

Cloud looked at him surprised.

"What for?"

Naruto kicked into the dirt.

"Well, I've always wanted a brother, and when I'm around you, I feel like that's what an older brother is like. So, can I call you Ni-san?"

He gave him a puppy dog look.

Cloud looked at him skeptically. He didn't know if this was a good idea. It would be unfair to Mikomi. Still, He did treat her and Naruto like younger siblings. It couldn't hurt.

"I guess it's alright, but don't think I'm replacing Mikomi. She's your real sister and she comes first"

Naruto cheered and hugged his legs.

"Ni-san, Ni-san. I have a Ni-san!"

Cloud tried to keep his balance and Naruto held to his legs. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.

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Vincent and Barret came a few minutes later, but they weren't the only ones coming. Bakuto was with them as well.

"Hey, you're that guy from the cloud village" Naruto said.

Bakuto just gave the boy a nod. He decided to be nice to him since he was a fellow Jinchuriki.

"I'm Yugito and I are here to strengthen our bond with your village" he said. "We'll be here until our kage calls us back"

"Cool, so that means that there'll be another person like Nee-chan and I"

Bakuto scoffed.

"Don't compare me to that stupid fox. I'm far better than her"

Naruto's grin faltered. He didn't think that was nice that he said that about his sister. The guys didn't so either.

"You better watch your mouth, boy" Barret warned. "We're friends with Mikomi and we don't like it when people are name calling her"

Bakuto looked at them for a moment before nodding.

"My apologies. I didn't realize you were such good friends with her"

"She's the baby of our group" Vincent said. "We take it upon ourselves to look after her"

"How strange" Bakuto said. "You willingly interact with a Jinchuriki, even though you know they're dangerous. I've never seen that"

"Mikomi's not dangerous" Barret said. "She's just misunderstood. So is Naruto. This village just doesn't know what a true hero is anymore"

"You're right on that part. We Jinchuriki's take up an important role in life. We harbor the demons that once terrorized the world and make sure they will not escape. It's a difficult job that must be fulfilled. Yugito and I know our roles, and I bet that stupid fox knows hers as well"

Naruto got ticked off. No one called his sister stupid while he was around.

Making a handsigns, he performed his original jutsu.

"Transform!"

He performed his sexy jutsu and took the shape of a naked woman who had smoke covering her private parts.

"Hey boys, you want to have some fun?" he said in a seductive female voice.

Cloud, Barret, and Vincent looked at him appalled and got major nosebleeds. Bakuto wasn't fazed in the least.

"Is that suppose to have an effect on me? Such childish tricks will not work on me"

Naruto grinned.

"Oh, really?"

He transformed again and turned into a naked version of Yugito with her hair down.

Bakuto's eyes went wide.

"Oh, Bakuto. I need you so badly"

He got a major nosebleed and had to cover his face with his hand.

Naruto reverted back to normal and burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh man! You should have seen the looks on your faces! It was priceless!"

"Naruto"

He turned around to see evil aura emanating from Cloud, Vincent and Barret.

"Why would you perform such a jutsu like that?"

"That had to be the most perverted trick I had ever seen"

"Little boys shouldn't be thinking things like that. You must be punished"

Naruto gulped and began to back away. He bumped into Bakuto and saw he was in the same state as the guys.

"You will pay for tricking my eyes with your prank"

Naruto let out a girly scream as they all held out their weapons and pounced on him.

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Cloud carried a semi conscious Naruto back to the house. They had given him a serious beating for that stunt he pulled. They didn't think he could pull off such a move.

"If he's going to be doing stunts like that, I don't want him near Marlene" Barret said.

"I can't believe he had the nerve to pull something like that" Bakuto said. "To take the form of my girlfriend like that…it's unacceptable"

"At least he learned his lesson" Vincent said. "That's all that matters"

Cloud didn't say anything as they went home. He was still a little stunned about what just happened. But he was even more stunned that he fell for it.

"_I must be getting soft or something"_

Yuri greeted them when they arrived.

"Hello my dears! How are you on this lovely day?"

Nobody didn't say anything. Instead, they just glared at Naruto. Yuri looked at them then at Naruto.

"What's wrong with Naruto?"

"He did something inappropriate, so we disciplined him"

"What did he do that was so wrong?"

"He…well…"

"He transformed into a naked girl, and then did the same thing with the face of my girlfriend!" Bakuto shouted.

Yuri laughed.

"He caught you with his sexy jutsu, eh? He does that when he wants attention or to fool around. It's nothing really. Just foolish play. He even did it to old man Hokage"

"Poor guy"

Yuri took him from Cloud and went inside.

"Dinner will be ready in a bit. You just rest up until then, ok?"

She went inside and tended to Naruto.

Cid was lying on a couch with a trash can next to him.

"What happen to you?" Barret asked.

Cid opened a bearly eye at them.

"I learned a valuable lesson today: never eat anything that Yuri makes"

To prove his point, he threw up in the trash can.

Tifa came into the room with Yugito behind her.

"What happened to Naruto?"

"And why do you have tissue up your nose, Bakuto?"

Bakuto tried to act cool in front of his girlfriend.

"Oh, I was just sparing and I let my guard down. Nothing serious"

"Oh, poor baby. I bet it hurts"

"It looks worse than it feels"

None of the guys were going to tell them that they had beaten up a kid. It would make them look pathetic and earn them a serious beating from the girls.

Yuri came in moments later.

"Dinners ready!"

Cid groaned and threw up again.

"I didn't have time to make something, so I had to order out. Hope you don't mind"

"I love order out!" Cid blurted. "I prefer it over home cooked meals any day. It's faster and convenient"  
"That's good. Well, go get your seats and I'll have dinner ready"

Everyone headed for the dining room. Cid brought his trash can with just in case.

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Naruto sat next to Yuri when they ate. He was afraid that he would get beaten again if he sat near the guys. He gave them a nervous look.

Eh Heh. Today was really fun, right Ni-san?"

Cloud gave him a scolding look.

"Don't try to sweet talk your way out of today. You're in trouble for pulling that stunt on us"

"Oh come on. It was just a joke"

The girls were beyond confused.

"What is he talking about?"

"Naruto did something inappropriate and got in trouble"

"It wasn't inappropriate. It's a way to get your enemy off guard. My jutsu is perfect"

"A thirteen year old boy shouldn't be turning into a naked girl in front of his friends"  
"What!?" Yuffie exclaimed. "He turned into what?"

Cloud just brushed it off.

"It's nothing. He just did something he shouldn't have and he got punished"

He looked at Naruto.

"Don't ever do that again, you hear me?"

Naruto nodded.

"Yes, Ni-san"

Yuri ate a rice ball.

"Wait until Mikomi hears about this. She's gonna flip"

Naruto paled at this. If Mikomi heard about this, then she would give him a worse beating than what the guys gave him.

"Don't tell Nee-chan! She'll kill me!"

"Well, you should have thought better than to perform your Sexy Jutsu. Mikomi and I have told you a thousand times not to and yet you never listen"  
"I promise never to do it again. Please don't tell Nee-chan"

The sound of the front door closing brought dread to his whole being.

"I'm home" Mikomi said as she entered the dining room.

She had a few cuts on her body and had blood running down the side of her face. Other than that, she was fine.

Yugito waved at her.

"Hi, Mikomi. Bakuto and I will be here for a while to strengthen our bond between the villages. I hope you don't mind"

"I'm fine with it. Just as long as that boyfriend of yours doesn't do anything to piss me off"

Bakuto scoffed.

"You're the least of my concerns, stupid fox. It's your brother that I'm ready to kill"

Mikomi looked at her brother to see him hiding behind Cloud.

"What did you do now?"

Naruto gulped.

"N-nothing"

"He performed his Sexy jutsu in front of the guys" Yuri said plainly.

Naruto looked at his godmother as if she grew a second head. Mikomi looked the same way. She regained her composure and looked at Naruto.

"Naruto" she said strangely calmed. "Come here "

Naruto shrank behind Cloud.

"No thank you. I'm fine here"

"Don't make me repeat myself, boy. Come here, or I'll get you myself"

Naruto slowly walked over to his sister. He gulped as he looked at her.

"Uh, hi Nee-chan. I take it you're mad at me"

Her eyes looked like they were on fire. They turned ruby red, showing that Usagi was pissed as well. Naruto took a step back.

"Um, I take it your mad, right?"

She started to perform handsigns.

"In the name of all things that are sane and pure. I hereby send your perverted soul back to the depths of hell"

She pulled out her lighting whip and snapped it a few times.

Naruto freaked out.

"Not the whip!"

He ran outside to get away from his sister. Mikomi ran after him as she snapped her whip.

"Pervert, get your sick ass out of here" she chanted.

"Mikomi, that's no way to perform an exorcist, believe me, I've tried" Yuri called out.

"How the hell do you know how to exorcist?" Cid asked.

"I have a degree in it"

No one choose to ask any further and just listened as Mikomi punished Naruto. She kept saying her chant as she whipped her younger brother.

Naruto learned a valuable lesson that night. Never ever use the sexy jutsu while her sister went on an Anbu mission, cause chances are, she will be cranky and will use the whip on you.

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**A/N: And there you go. Naruto got the beating of his life by Cloud and everyone else. I'm sure we have all learned a valuable lesson today.**

**Send in those reviews and tell me what you think.**


	21. Letting go

Chapter 21: Letting go

**A/N: Here we are with another chapter. The Chunin exams arc has begun, so get your kunai and sharpen your skills. You life is on the line with this arc. Ok, not really, but its fun to say that.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Usagi and Yuri and the character Bakuto Masaki and Taimat belong to Bakuto Masaki.**

**You have been warned.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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Mikomi was out like a light on one of the couches. Sarutobi had finally given her a break from missions and she was taking advantage of it. Since she hadn't slept well during the week, she decided to take a little nap. She was off in La-la land, dreaming about herself and Kakashi going on a date.

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_She smiled as she held hands with Kakashi. She walked through a meadow field with the man that she loved most. Everything was absolutely perfect. _

_Kakashi smiled at her._

"_I had such a fun time today, Mikomi. You're an amazing person"_

_Mikomi blushed._

"_Oh, Kakashi. You're embarrassing me"_

"_No, I mean it. You're really incredible. You're pretty, you're strong, and you're a good sister. You're everything"_

"_Oh Kakashi"_

"_I could just kiss you right now"_

"_Then what are you waiting for?"_

_He leaned forward to kiss her. His fingers slowly started to pull his mask down._

_Mikomi felt her heart beating as she saw more and more of his face._

_She almost got to see his face, when suddenly he vanished._

"_What the?" _

_She looked around to see if she could find him._

"_This isn't funny, Kakashi. Come out already"_

_A female's laughter filled her ears._

"_Who's there?"_

_The laughter continued._

"_I've been wanting to meet you for some time…Mikomi"_

_She turned around in the direction of the voice to see the figure of a woman. She could only see her back, but the only noted details that she could see were her pink dress and her braided hair._

"_Who are you?"_

_The woman slowly turned around._

"_I'm sure you've heard of me" she said._

_She almost saw her face._

"_My name is-_

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"Nee-chan!"

Mikomi yelped as she was woken up suddenly. She fell off the couch and landed with a loud 'thump'. The pillow that she was lying on fell on her face. Naruto laughed at his sister.

"Man, Nee-chan. That was funny"

She just glared at him.

"What do you want, Naruto?"

She put the pillow back on the couch. Naruto bounced on his feet.

"Guess what? Kakashi-Sensei signed me up for the Chunin exams!"

Mikomi stopped what she was doing and looked at him. The Chunin exams were tests given to Genin who thought they were ready to go up to the next level. Usually, a Sensei would wait for a year until he thought his students were ready. Kakashi had barely been a Sensei for even half a year and he was letting his students do this?

"Are you sure he wasn't kidding? The Chunin exams are very dangerous and shouldn't be taken lightly"

"Yeah, he even gave me the form for it"

He showed her the paperwork. She didn't know what to say. Her thirteen year old brother was going to participate in the Chunin exams. This was too much.

"Have you told Yuri yet?"

"Nope. I wanted to tell you first since you're the one who's always proud of me"

She grew touched at his words, but that didn't erase her uneasiness. Naruto pulled her along with him.

"Let's tell Yuri about the good news, I'm sure she'll be excited"

"Excited isn't the best word to describe this"

"_No kidding"_

Naruto found Yuri in no time and decided to break the 'good' news.

"Hey, Yuri. Guess what?"

Yuri looked up from what she was doing to see her godson.

"What is it Naruto?"

He held out the paperwork.

"Kakashi-Sensei signed me up for the Chunin exams"

Yuri didn't say anything for a moment. Her face was unreadable. Then suddenly, she let out a blood curdling scream. Naruto and Mikomi jumped a little. Cloud, Bakuto and Tifa ran into the room.

"What happened?" Tifa asked worriedly.

Yuri had tears in her eyes. She went up to Naruto and hugged him.

"Oh, my baby is so grown up! He's finally going to participate in the Chunin exams!"

Cloud and Tifa just looked dumb.

"Chunin exams?"

"It's a test to determine if a ninja goes up a rank or not" Bakuto explained.

"And it's very dangerous" Mikomi added.

She didn't like the idea of her brother possibly dying. He was all she had left of her parents.

Naruto looked at his sister.

"Are you proud of me Nee-chan? I'm one step closer to me dream!"

She had a forced smile on her face.

"Oh coarse I am, Naruto. I'm always proud of you"

Cloud and Tifa could see though her forced smile. Yuri wiped the tears from her eyes.

"This calls for a celebration. We're going to have a big dinner for our little Naru-kun making it into the Chunin exams"

She skipped towards the kitchen to make who knows what.

Naruto went to leave.

"I'm gonna see if Sakura got her permission slip too. I'm gonna show her that I'm better than that stupid Sasuke"

When he left, the grin fell from Mikomi's face. She looked so helpless at the moment. She was glad that her brother was picked to participate in the Chunin exams, but she was also afraid.

"Are you ok, Mikomi?" Tifa asked.

She nodded her head but said nothing.

"Are you not happy that your brother is going to compete?" Bakuto probed.

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"_Damn dragon, he's egging me on"_

"It's not that I'm upset or anything" she said "I just wish that Kakashi waited a bit longer to sign him up. He just became a Genin, so why rush him?"

"But, I thought that this was a good thing?" Tifa said.

"It depends on how you look at it" Bakuto said. "Sure, it's an honor to be in the exams, but it's also deadly. People die constantly from entering into the exams. They think that they'll get out of it easily, but they end up six feet under. People like Naruto end up dead in the first few minutes of the exam"

Mikomi flinched as he said that. She didn't want to think about her brother dying so quickly. She gave Bakuto a hard stare which told him to take back what he said.

"My apologies" he said. "I forgot how much your brother means to you"

"You god damn right he means a lot to me" she snapped. "He's as important to me as Yugito is important to you"

She walked outside to find her brother.

"Where are you going?" Bakuto asked.

"To find Naruto. I'm going to see f I can change his mind about participating in the exams"

She left without saying anything and went to find the crazy blonde.

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Each step she took felt heavier than the last. The thought of her brother actually competing weighed heavily on her mind. She just couldn't accept that Naruto was growing up and wasn't that cute adorable little boy anymore. It made her feel sad that he was getting older was likely to get into more danger. She made a vow at her parent's funeral that she would never let anything bad happen to him, and if not letting him compete in the Chunin exams would keep him safe, and then she would do it.

"Don't you think that you're being a little overprotective of him?" Usagi asked.

"_No. I'm acting the same was as mom and dad did with me. Naruto is the only family I have left and I'm not going to let anything bad happen to him"_

"Don't be ridiculous. Naruto alone isn't your family. You have Yuri, Jiraiya, and AVALANCE as your family now. You may not share the same blood, but the bond you all share is much deeper than that"

She stopped walking for a moment. What Usagi said was true. It wasn't just her and Naruto anymore. They made friends that would stay with them until the end of time. A smile spread across her lips. She liked the idea of having someone watching over her when Yuri couldn't. She really did have a family in AVALANCE.

"_Plus, Yugito and that damn dragon are starting to be a part of it. Maybe I am overreacting to all of this. Maybe I just don't want to let Naruto go just yet"_

"You'll have let him go eventually. You can't hold his hand forever. He needs to learn things on his own and fight his own battles. You've done a good job these past thirteen years, but now it's time to loosen your hold on Naruto"

She sighed.

"_You're right, Usagi"_

"I always am. Now let's go home and wait for Naruto to return. Let him enjoy the fact that he got accepted into the Chunin exams in the first place. Let's face it, I didn't expect the knuckle head to make it this far. He's not the sharpest crayon in the box"

"_You're right about that. Ok, I'll go home"_

"Good girl, Mikomi. You're doing the right thing"

"_I hope so"_

She went back home and managed to stop Yuri from making dinner, much to everyone's relief.

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Yuri's big dinner turned out really well. She didn't make dinner, but it still turned out well according to her. Everyone was pretty much out of it from drinking too much. And by everyone, it meant, Yuri, Cid, Barret and Yuffie. They had a drinking contest and all lost. Cloud and Tifa had to take care of their three drunken friends while Mikomi had to take care of Yuri. Trying to put a drunken Yuri to bed was like trying to give a cat a bath, it didn't work well. Luckily, she was able to put her to bed with a little help from Yugito and Bakuto.

Now, the three Jinchuriki's sat up on the roof to watch the stars.

"That was some dinner" Yugito said.

"Yeah, especially with Yuri's dinking game" Mikomi added.

Bakuto rubbed his cheek from when Yuri hit him. She had a fit when Mikomi tried to put her to bed and he got caught in the cross fire.

Mikomi gave him a sheepish grin.

"Sorry about Yuri. She's kind of crazy when she's drunk"

"That woman can pack a punch" Bakuto said. "She tried to do a few wrestling moves on me before"

The two women laughed.

"Yeah. Yuri used to be a professional wrestler back in the day. She was referred to as the 'Iron Lotus' and was feared by all"

"Oh, sounds scary"

Tifa, Cloud and Vincent came up.

"How are Yuffie, Cid and Barret?"

"They're out of it. They'll be having a hangover by tomorrow"

"So will Yuri and it won't be pretty. Luckily, I have mission, so I won't be around while she's recovering from a massive headache"

"Yeah, but we will" Bakuto said

"That's your lose, not mine"

"Why you"

The two had a mock fight and started slapping each other just for the fun of it. Yugito laughed at her boyfriend's childish act"

"So, Mikomi. Did you talk to Naruto?" Tifa asked.

She stopped slapping for a moment.

"No. I didn't" she said quietly.

"How come?"

She looked at her feet.

"I figured that I can't baby him forever. He needs to learn how to do things on his own and not rely me. I guess that …I need to back off a bit and let him grow up"

Yugito patted her shoulder.

"I bet this must be hard for you"

"It is, but I just need to deal with it. I can't hold his hand anymore like before"

"You'll get used to it" Bakuto said.

"Really?"

"Sure. And if not, then that just shows that you're more of a baby than your brother"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead. She tried to kick him off the roof but failed horribly.

"See? This just proves that you're still a child. You have a lot to learn"

"Don't worry. I'll start learning as soon as I push you off of this roof"

"You can try, but the results will be the same"

A bigger tick mark appeared on her forehead. She stopped pushing him and resumed her slap fight with him.

"Who's childish now?"

"Shut up!"

Yugito laughed at them, while the sober members of AVALANCE just sighed.

"Mikomi will never change, will she?" Vincent asked.

"Nope" Cloud replied.

"But…maybe that's a good thing" Tifa said.

They just watched as Mikomi and Bakuto kept slapping each other through the night. After that night, Mikomi started to loosen her hold around Naruto's chain and let him grow up. Or, at least she tried.

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**A/N: I know it wasn't much, but it's better than nothing. I'm just using these 'fillers' for when the action starts. Have no fear, the action will come soon. And if you're patient, I might add two chapters in one day. Just send in those reviews.**


	22. The Sand Siblings

Chapter 22: The Sand Siblings

**A/N: Hey everyone, I got the next chapter done. I want to thank Bakuto Masaki and Yumi-no-Taiyo for sending their reviews. You get a cookie!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi and Yuri while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

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The village of Konoha was crazier than usual lately. Ninja's from different nations were coming in to compete in the Chunin exams. Some had potential, others held hopeless dreams. It was like that every time the exams were around. Naruto was among one of those hopeless fools and kept boasting that he was going to compete. It was starting to get on everyone's nerves, especially Mikomi's.

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She held her head as Naruto kept skipping around the couch that she was sitting on.

"I'm going to be in the Chunin exams!" He sang.

He had been doing that for the past week and it was starting to get on everyone's nerves. Bakuto was at the point of using his swords on him.

"_I don't blame him though" _she thought. _"I'm ready to use my guns on him"_

"Didn't Vincent take them from you?"

"_Yeah, but I found out where he was hiding them, so I got them back"_

"Just don't do anything drastic, Mikomi. You tend to do scary things when you lose it"

"_I'll try, but I'm at my wits end. If I have to hear Naruto sing that he's in the Chunin exams one more time, I'm gonna snap!"_

She was caught up with talking to Usagi that she didn't even know that Naruto was right up to her ear.

"Nee-Chan!" he shouted in her ear. "I'm gonna be in the Chunin exams!"

That pushed her to the edge.

"That's it!" she shot up from her seat and went to go get her guns. Her eyes turned red to show how ticked off she was.

Naruto gulped as he watched his sister pick up her guns. Her eyes held a deadly look to them. Loading a row of bullets to each gun, she held one up to his face.

"If you sing that song one more time, then I'll make sure you won't be in the Chunin exams" she said deadly.

Naruto started sweating bullets and the barrel of the gun was pointed to his face. He had watched her use a gun, and it was scary. She wasn't as good as Vincent, but she wasn't a rookie.

"B-but Nee-Chan, I'm just excited that I'm going to be in the Chunin ex-"

The sound of her pulling the safety off her gun shut him up right away.

"Don't repeat that sentence again" she said.

He gulped nervously. He was going to get killed and he knew it.

Cloud walked in just as Mikomi was about to pull the trigger.

"What the hell are you doing, Mikomi?"

Naruto quickly ran to Cloud and hid behind him.

"Ni-San! Nee-Chan is trying to kill me just because I said that I was going to be in the Chunin exa-"

Mikomi fried her gun and hit the wall behind them.

"What did I say about repeating that sentence?"

Naruto shook like a leaf as he held on to Cloud like a Koala bear. Cloud laid a hand on his head to calm him down. He figured that Mikomi was going to snap at some point, he just didn't expect this to happen.

"Mikomi, give the guns" he said as he held out his other hand.

"No way, Cloud. I've had it up to here with Naruto's singing and I'm going to stop it"

"Shooting your brother isn't going to solve anything, now give me the guns"

"No, I'm going to teach Naruto a lesson to and make sure he never annoys like that again"

Naruto didn't like where this was going, so he did the only thing he could think of.

"Yuri! Nee-Chan has a gun and she's trying to shoot me!"

The medic came out of nowhere and body slammed her goddaughter to the ground. The guns flew out of her hands and skidded across the ground. Cloud picked them up and hid them so she wouldn't get them.

Yuri picked Mikomi up and pinned her to her chest.

"Mikomi Kushina Uzumaki. What has gotten into you?"

Mikomi tried to get out of her godmother's grasp, but it was useless. She glared at Yuri with distaste.

"I've had it with Naruto's singing and his 'I'm gonna be in the Chunin Exams' chant. I've been hearing every single Genin repeat that phrase over and over again and I can't take it anymore! I feel like my brain is about to explode"

Yuri noticed that her eyes were still red from Usagi. She whacked upside the head until she saw her eyes go back to green. Mikomi glared at her.

"What was that for?"

"For you being a brat. You should be happy for Naruto. This is his big chance to prove to the village that he's more than just a Jinchuriki. This is will make people start to accept him and treat him like a regular human being. Don't you want that for your brother?"

She just groaned. Leave it to Yuri to make her feel bad and be persuasive at the same time. She looked at her brother, who was still hiding behind Cloud. She suddenly felt guilty as she looked at the fear in his eyes. She must have really scared him with her little breakdown. She felt like the worse sister ever.

"I'm sorry, Naruto. I didn't mean to snap at you like that" She said. "I'm just under a lot of stress lately and I guess I just lost it"

Naruto poked his head out further from Cloud's protection. He could see that his sister meant what she said.

"It's ok, Nee-Chan" he said. "I'm sorry if I bugged you"

She just waved him off as if it was nothing. He could be annoying at times, but she loved him regardless.

"I'm going to go for a walk and try to clear my head out" She said.

Yuri let her go when she knew that Mikomi wouldn't do anything. The young kunochi walked outside to breathe in the fresh air.

Cloud looked at Naruto. The boy was still clinging to him like a koala bear and looked like he wasn't going to let go at any time.

"Will you let go?"

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The fresh air was just the thing that Mikomi needed to clear her mind. She had been stuck in the house for the week and never went out unless she had a mission. The streets were crowded with foreign shinobi. It seemed like everyone was coming to take part in the exams. Just as she was walking, she bumped into someone.

"Sorry" she said as she turned to apologize.

The person she bumped into wore a sound village headband around his forehead. His outfit consisted of different shades of purple. His long black hair was pulled back. His piercing eyes looked at her for a moment before he grinned evilly.

"Oh no, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going"

She felt a chill run up her spine as she looked into his eyes. She could have sworn that she saw a speck of gold in them.

"I-I see. Well, thank you"

She walked away from him.

"I hope to see you again, little Mikomi"

She whipped around to look at the sound ninja, only to see that he was gone. The hair on the back of her neck stood.

"_Was that…Orochimaru?" _She thought.

"It couldn't be. He hasn't stepped foot in this village in years. There's no way he would be back"

She gulped slightly.

"I must be really out of it then" she said to herself.

She continued walking through the streets. She felt crowded with everyone being in the same area as her. She had to get somewhere that wasn't crowded.

"_The training area should be open" _She thought.

She headed for her favorite place to train with the hopes that no one would be there. She never saw the set of snake like eyes watching her as she left.

Orochimaru licked his lips as he watched Mikomi leave.

"You haven't changed one bit, little Mikomi. That's good to know"

He walked through the streets to prepare for the plans he had set for this village.

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She was relieved to see that no one was at the training area.

"_Finally, some peace and quiet"_

"Mikomi-San!"

"_Or not"_

Turning around, she saw Sasuke and Sakura coming towards her. She gave them a small wave to her brother's teammates.

"Hey guys, how are doing? I heard you'll be in the Chunin exams with Naruto, right? Good luck"

"Thank you, Mikomi-San" Sakura said. 'I'm so nervous about the exams. I just feel like I'm going to fail"

"Don't be like that, Sakura. You're one of the smartest girls I know in this village. You have something that is really valuable to the village. Don't doubt yourself like that"

Sakura blushed.

"Thank you, Mikomi-San. You're so nice"

Mikomi had a smirk on her face. She had to admit that she like the pink haired girl. She was the nicest one on her brother's team and she actually treated her like she was actually human. She may have not known about her being a Jinchuriki, but maybe that was for the best.

She turned her attention to Sasuke.

"Hey, Sasuke. How are you doing? Are you nervous about the exams?"

Sasuke just gave her that know it all look.

"It's not that big of a deal. I don't know why everyone is making such a fuss about it. I'll pass this exam with true colors"

She had to hold back the sweat drop that was threatening to fall. It's no wonder that Naruto was always arguing with him.

She ruffled his hair like she would with Naruto.

"Don't be so sure of yourself" She said. "You shouldn't be saying stuff like that just yet. These exams are very difficult and even a genius would have trouble with them. You need to give it your everything and show everyone that your different from the rest"

"But I am different" Sasuke countered.

"I mean, you have to show them something unexpected. Something that they wouldn't expect an Uchiha to do"

"Like what?"

She tapped her chin for a moment to think.

"You could get along with Naruto" she suggested.

Sasuke scoffed at the idea.

"Why would I lower myself to work with that loser?"

"Because you need to work well with your teammates for the exam. You can't do everything by yourself you know. "

She got close to his face and gave him one of her seductive looks.

"Could you do that for me please?"

Sasuke went beat red as he looked at her. He wouldn't admit that he found her attractive at this moment. Sakura giggled at the scene. Normally, if it were any other girl, she would explode on them for flirting with her Sasuke. But since she knew that Mikomi was only joking around, she found it to be funny. Sasuke's face was still red as he looked at the ground.

"F-fine. I'll try to work with that loser brother of yours"

Mikomi smirked.

"That's good to hear. I would have given you a big kiss as a thank you"

Sasuke gulped at the thought of her kissing him. His mind began thinking things that he wasn't even aware of or knew about. Just as his mind began to go down the gutter, she grabbed his face and made him face her. She no longer held that seductive look, but wore a scary one.

"But since you called my brother a loser, I'm going to leave you off with a warning. You call him that again and I'll give you a black eye, got it?"

He nodded his head like an idiot. Normally, he wouldn't be afraid of anyone, let alone a woman. Mikomi was an entirely different story to him. He learned in the past that he should never piss her off, otherwise he make a trip to the hospital and in ten seconds flat.

She let go of his face and stood up.

"Well, I'll leave you two be. I bet you have to get ready for the big day tomorrow. I wish you good luck, and remember what I told you"

Sakura waved to her as she left them. Sasuke was still frozen in place from his encounter of Mikomi's Medusa stare.

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Mikomi didn't even pass the trees until she ran into someone else.

Bakuto was lying on a tree branch in a lazy sort of manner. He jumped from his spot to land in front of her.

"Scaring an Uchiha like that. You must have one wicked look to pull that off"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"What are you doing here?"

Bakuto cracked his back as he tried to get all of the sore kinks out of his back.

"I've been sleeping here for the past week. Naruto's singing got to me, so I had to leave before I lost it"

She could see the circles under his eyes.

"Why didn't you just sleep at a hotel?"

"Are you crazy? They're all packed with people trying to compete in the Chunin exams. You're lucky if you're able to step foot into one of them"

"I see. Well, you don't have to worry about Naruto singing anymore, I took care of it"

"Really?"

"Yep. I went crazy on him and scared him straight. He won't be singing any time soon"

Bakuto just gave her a blank stare.

"The fact that I'm becoming friends with you frightens me"

"Hey, I never said you had to be friends with me. You chose that on your own "

"And I regret it dearly"

"Say what you want, but you know you love having me around"

"Whatever"

They continued to bicker as they walked into town, otherwise known as the path of no return.

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"This is nightmare. I can hardly walk without bumping into someone"

Bakuto kept pushing and shoving his was down the road with Mikomi in tow. Mikomi was currently eating a sandwich.

"Don't worry, it'll get better once the exams start" she said as she took a bite.

"Where did you get that sandwich?"

She shrugged.

"Found it on one of the street vendors that we passed"

"You just took it? Aren't you worried that it might have poison in or something?"

"Have you not met my godmother? After eating her cooking, I've been able to stomach any poison and not get sick by it. It's kind of a good thing that Yuri can't cook to save her own life"

She took another bite.

Bakuto rolled his eyes.

"You scare me sometimes"

"You get used to it"

"I don't think I want to"

They heard some sort of commotion up ahead.  
"I wonder what's going on?" Mikomi said as she finished her snack.

They went to look and saw Yugito arguing with a couple of Sand ninjas. Marlene was hiding behind Yugito and she got into the sand ninja's face.

"Look pal. You have no right to pick on a little girl like that. Just apologize and get on your way"

"She bumped into me, she should apologize"

"You were the one who wasn't looking where he was going. You apologize"

"No way. I'm not going to lower myself to some little brat, just because she ran into me"

"You're the one who ran into her, so apologize!"

The Sand ninja got ticked off and went to grab the object that was wrapped to his back.

"You're really starting to annoy me, you know that? I think it's time that you were put in your place"

Bakuto got in front of Yugito and pointed his blades at the ninja.

"You lay one finger on her and I'll chop it off" He growled.

Mikomi came up to them.

"What's going on here?"

Yugito jabbed a finger at the Sand ninja.

"That jerk ran into Marlene and he won't even apologize to her"

"It's the brat's fault, she should apologize"

"I saw you! You apologize"

They argued again and got into each other's faces. Mikomi stepped in between and made them separate.

"Alright, that's enough. Let's just settle this in a nice, calm matter"

She turned to the Sand ninja.

"Could you just be a gentleman for once and apologize. She's just a little girl for crying out loud. She didn't do anything to you"

The Sand ninja just scoffed.

"No way. I'm not going to lower myself to some kid and apologize. I'm not like that"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"_Why must men be so stubborn?"_

"It must be a genetic thing or something"

She looked at Yugito for a moment then at Bakuto.

"I suggest that we settle this the old fashion way. What do you say, Bakuto?"

Bakuto looked at her strangely. She never called him by his name.

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm just saying that this ape needs to learn some manners. He bumped into Marlene and won't apologize…and he almost hit your girlfriend, do you agree with me that this shouldn't go unpunished?"

She knew she had him when she mentioned Yugito. She could see the anger build up in his eyes. He put his swords away slowly.

"Yugito…why don't you take Marlene home while the stupid fox and I talk with this guy"

Yugito knew where this was going.

"Don't do anything drastic, Bakuto. We're don't want to cause trouble while we're representing our village"

"Don't worry, he won't do anything stupid while I'm around" Mikomi said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Just go home and let Barret know what's going on. I'm sure he'll want to know that some jerk was being mean to his precious daughter. Now run along before things get messy"

Yugito sighed wearily. She grabbed Marlene's hand and left before things got out of hand.

Mikomi grinned wickedly when they left.

"Let me show how we handle things in Konoha"

She got into a fighting stance.

"First, why don't you tell me your name so when I take you to the hospital, your teammates will be able to know who you are in a body cast"

The ninja pulled off the object that was tied to his back.

"The name's Kankuro. Since I told you my name, you might as well tell me yours. I don't like fighting nameless shinobi"

"Mikomi Uzumaki, at your service"

"Bakuto Maskai"

Kankuro cracked his knuckles and went to unwrap his weapon.

"Stop Kankuro"

They all turned to see two other Sand ninja's.

"_Must be his teammates or something"_

The girl in the group started lecturing her partner.

"How many times do I have to tell you that you can't fight everyone that you meet? It's bad enough that you got into a fight with that blonde kid yesterday. Now you're fighting a girl? What is wrong with you?"

Kankuro sneered.

"It's not my fault, Temari. This bitch started it because she said I wasn't acting like a gentleman and scolding me for bumping into a little brat"

"Hey, you deserve a serious beating for acting like a jerk to a little kid. You don't have to act so high and mighty in front of a little kid"

Kankuro was about to say something but was cut off.

"Kankuro"

Everyone watched as the youngest one in the Sand group opened his eyes. The dark rings around his eyes gave him an creepy look.

"Knock it off…before I kill you"

Kankuro started to panic . He looked like he was about to wet himself.

"S-sorry, Garra. I promise I won't do it again. I don't know what I was thinking"

Garra just ignored him and looked at Mikomi.

"I'm sorry for the trouble he's caused you. He just doesn't know when to stop"

Mikomi nodded her head in acknowledgement, but couldn't stop the shiver that ran up her neck.

"_There's something about this guy that isn't right"_

"I sense a very evil aura within him. Keep your eye on that one"

"So, I take it you're here for the Chunin exams?" She asked.

"No. We're just here to visit. Of course we're here for the exams, why else would we be here in this dump?" Kankuro retorted.

Garra just gave him a look and made him shut up right away.

Mikomi just looked at them blankly.

"I see. We'll, good luck and I hope you enjoy you're stay in Konoha"

She went to walk away when Kankuro shot off his mouth again.

"Who would enjoy staying here with a freak like her?"

She quickly spun on her foot and flash stepped into his face. Grabbing him by the collar, she raised him over her head.

"What did you call me, you little punk?"

It was bad enough that the village called her that, but to have someone from a different village say that just pushed her over the edge.

Bakuto put his hand on her shoulder.

"Give it up, Mikomi. This brat isn't worth fighting"

She dropped Kankuro like a sack of potatoes and let him pick himself up.

"Call me names again and I'll make sure no one recognize you"

She went to leave again, but Garra stopped her.

"Wait" he said. "What is your name?"

She just looked at him.

"What's it to you?"

"I'm just curious about the inhabitants of this village you're different from the ninja's I've meet"

"_Plus, her aura is very strange. And to catch Kankuro off guard like that so fast, that isn't normal"_

"I'm Mikomi Uzumaki" she said. "And over here is the grumpy Bakuto Masaki"

A tick mark appeared on Bakuto's forehead.

"Now listen here you stupid fox. I may be serious all the time, but I am not grumpy"

"Say whatever you want, you'll always look grumpy to me"

"Why you"

Mikomi just ignored him and looked at Garra.

"Now that you know my name, why don't you tell me yours"

"I'm Garra of the desert" He said.

Mikomi mulled it over.

"_Garra of the Desert? I guess it fits since he lives in the Sand Village"_

"Plus he has that giant gourd on his back. I wonder what it's filled with?"

She gave him a mock salute.

"Well ,Garra of the Desert, I hope you enjoy your stay in Konoha. Good luck in the exams"

Garra bowed slightly.

"Thank you, I will"

He motioned for his siblings to follow as he left. The chin left her body when he was gone.

"You sensed it too?" Bakuto asked.

"Yep. That guy means trouble, I just know it"

She sighed wearily.

"Today is just crazy. It can't get any worse"

Barret came charging like a bull.

"Where's this punk that was picking on Marlene?!" He bellowed.

It took everything in her not to cover her ears.

"I took care of it Barret. He won't bug Marlene again"

Barret held his metal arm up.

"Nobody picks on my daughter while I'm around. Nobody!"

Mikomi patted him on the back.

"I know. I know. You're the protective father who won't allow anyone near Marlene without going through you. I tremble at the thought of when she'll start dating"

Barret started shouting again and made Mikomi and Bakuto cover their ears.

"_Today has been really crazy. I have to remember to apologize to Naruto when I get the chance" _She thought as they went home.

She realized that day that Naruto wasn't the only one who was crazy in this village. It was filled with nut jobs. Why she was still living in this village was beyond her.

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**A/N: And there you go. Another chapter by your truly. In case you're wondering, Garra will play a big role in the Exam arc soon. I just want to introduce all of the villains that will be present. It may be a while until I post up the next chapter. Homework is killing me and I got the Final Fantasy X game, so now I'm hooked to it. But don't fear, I always make time to write out my next chapter.**

**Remember to send in those reviews and a moggle will give you a cookie.**

**Ja ne**


	23. The Loyal Lieutenant

Chapter 23: The Loyal Lieutenant

**A/N: Another glorious day for another glorious chapter. Since I haven't been given a lot of homework and I finally saw the kissing scene in Final Fantasy X, I thought I would spread my good mood to everyone and post another chapter to my fans. **

**A special thanks to Bakuto Masaki and Yumi-no-Taiyo for reviewing again. (Why can't you other readers be like them?)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto Masaki, Taimat, and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

"**Taimat talking"**

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Being a captain in the Anbu Black Ops could have its advantages. You were able to know things before anyone else was. You could go on very exciting missions. You get paid better than the average Jonin. You could even know how everyone was doing during the Chunin exams.

That was one of the things that Mikomi loved about her rank.

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It was another fun filled day of missions for Mikomi. She thought that she get some slack since the exams were about to start, but no, Sarutobi thought that this was the perfect time to take care of everything before things got to hectic.

"_That old geezer must be suffering from old age or something" _Mikomi thought as she was doing her mission.

She got stuck with Anbu duties and had to do everything from S- rank missions to D- rank missions. Today, she got the unlucky draw of a D-rank mission and had to find the Feudal Lord's pet cat…again.

"_I don't see why they need an Anbu to do this. Do they think it won't run away again unless it's caught by an Anbu or something?"_

'Who know, at least you're getting paid for it"

'_I don't get paid enough for the stuff I do"_

"It's better than nothing"

"_True"_

She climbed up the tree that she spotted the cat. The feline started hissing when it caught sight of her.

"Look cat, I don't like this anymore than you do. Just come over here and I'll take you back to your owner. You can run away again after I'm done with this mission, ok?"

The cat just continued to hiss at her. Mikomi sighed and pulled something out of her pocket. Yugito heard about this mission, and being the cat expert that she was, gave her a bag of catnip.

'_Why she had this on her is beyond me"_

She held up the bag so the cat would see.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty. Come get the catnip"

The cat's tail swayed as it saw the catnip. Crouching down, it went to pounce on it. Mikomi caught it before it could get away and held it close to her chest when it tried to get away. It clawed at her face a bit but it was nothing serious.

"Relax, will ya? You're acting like I'm going to stuff you or something. I just taking you home"

The cat stared to panic more at the mention of its owner and thrashed out even more.

Mikomi lost her footing from the commotion the cat was making and fell off the tree.

"Ahh!"

She would have tried to grab a branch, but the cat was putting up such a fight that she had to hold it down with both arms. She crashed through the branches and somehow landed into someone's arms.

Mikomi blushed deep red when she saw Kakashi's face. Her childhood crush was holding her bridal style while she was still holding the cat to her. She felt so embarrassed.

Kakashi's eye curled up to show that he was smiling.

"Well what do you know; I caught myself a fallen angel"

Her blush deepened.

Muttering thanks, she got on to her feet and stood in front of him.

Kakashi looked at her Anbu uniform then at the cat.

"Cat retrieval mission?" he asked.

She nodded her head like an idiot.

'_Oh great. I land into Kakashi's arms and I look like a wreck. This has to be the most embarrassing day of my life"_

And it was true. She did look like a wreck. Her hair that she kept up during Anbu missions was coming out, she had scratches all over her face, and her Anbu mask was pushed up on top of her head. Overall, she didn't look attractive at this point.

She felt the blood rushing to her face and quickly shoved her mask over her face.

"_It's bad enough that he saw me looking like this. I don't need to have him see me blushing"_

Kakashi pushed her mask up.

"Why are you hiding your pretty face from me, Mikomi?"

She averted her stare from him and just looked at the cat that she still held.

"I-I wouldn't call my face pretty at this moment. I probably look like a train wreck with all of these scratches and everything. Guys usually wouldn't want to see that on a girl"

Kakashi put his finger under her chin and lifted it up so she could look at him.

"Now why would you say that? I don't care how many cuts or scrapes you have on your face. I still think you're one of the hottest girls in the village"

Mikomi had to remind herself to breath. Kakashi thought she was hot?

"_Please tell me this isn't a dream"_

"If it is, I won't wake you up"

The moment was ruined when the cat that Mikomi was holding got out of her grip and ran away. Mentally crying, she excused herself and went after the furry demon.

"_When I get my hands on that fur ball, I'm going to stuff it"_

Kakashi waved to his old teammate as she ran off. He couldn't help the blush that appeared over his mask. Looking at the Hokage monument, he looked at his Sensei's face.

"Is it wrong for me to love your daughter, Sensei?" he whispered to himself.

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Mikomi ran through the streets of Konoha. That cat could run for its size.

"Stupid cat. When I get my hands on you, I'm going to turn you into a stuffed animal"

The sound of laughter filled her ears.

"You're short tempered as always, captain"

A female Anbu wearing a wolf mask appeared before her. A grin appeared on Mikomi's face.

"Ah, if it isn't Myou. Just the person that I need"

Myou pulled her mask off the reveal her face.

Myou was Mikomi's lieutenant in their Anbu division. She came from the Hyuga Clan and was part of the Main branch. She had the pale lavender eyes that the Huyga's were known for and long blue hair.

Myou smiled at her captain.

"I see you're having cat trouble, Captain?"

Mikomi sweat dropped.

'Yeah. That stupid feline is too hard for me to catch. I caught it before, but it ran away. Think you could help me out?"

"Anything for you Captain"

She activated her Byakugan and scanned the area.

"There it is. It's hiding behind the ramen shop"

They both ran to Ichiraku's and found the pesky cat hiding behind the garbage cans.

Mikomi picked it up by the scruff of its neck and held it to her face.

"You and I are going to have some fun before I dump you off with your owner, you pesky little mongrel"

The cat hissed at her and tried to get away.

Myou laughed at her captain.

"You're look so funny talking to a cat, Captain" she said.

Mikomi looked at her.

"Myou, how many times do I have to tell you to call me by my name? Captain makes me sound old"

"But Captain, that would sound improper. I have so much respect for you; I feel that captain fits better for someone of such high rank"

"I'm just an Anbu Black Op. There's nothing special about that"  
"But you're a captain of Anbu Black Ops. It's very hard to obtain that title"

"Myou" Mikomi warned.

"Please Captain. I just feel like that's the only way I can address someone that I look up to. I don't know how else to show my loyalty towards you"

She looked at her Captain helplessly. Mikomi sighed. It was real hard to lecture someone who was so loyal to her. Myou was one of the few people in the village that didn't fear her or cared that she was a Jinchuriki. Ever since she meet her, she became her shadow and joined Anbu Black Ops just so she could be by her. No matter how many times she tried, she could never be harsh on the nicest person in their squad.

"Ok, ok. You can call me captain if you want. But don't sound so formal when you say it. You make it sound like I'm some Feudal lord or something. Ok?"

Myou squealed and jumped in place.

"Thank you, Captain"

She hugged her tightly.

"I'll do whatever you say, Captain. I owe you my life for what you've done for me"

Mikomi recalled the day that she first meet Myou. She was still the same as she back then as she was now.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&_10 Years ago_

_Mikomi kicked a pebble that was in her way. It had been another day of public humiliation for her as she walked down the streets. Everywhere she went, people would cower in fear as they saw the host for the village guardian. She had a band-aid on her face from where someone threw a rock at her. She had a few bandages covering her arms and legs from injuries caused by the villagers. _

_She shoved her hands in the pockets of her shorts. No matter where she turned, people would always run from her. It was unfair._

_The sound of someone crying caught her attention. She walked down an alley to find a young girl curled up in a ball. The formal kimono that she wore had dirt on the hem from running out in the dirty streets for too long. Her dark blue hair fell in her face as she cried in her hands. _

_She didn't think it was right that a young girl was crying in an alley way, so she went to find out what was wrong._

_She stood a few feet away from her just so she wouldn't get scared. The last thing she wanted was to have this girl flip out because she was cornered by a Jinchuriki._

"_Are you ok?"_

_The girl jolted a bit from being startled. She lowered hands to reveal lavender eyes. The Hyuga eyes. _

_The girl cowered in fear when she saw how spoke to her. Even this girl was scared of her. Mikomi just let it slide for now. _

_Crouching down so she wouldn't look intimating, she was able to see her better._

"_Are you ok?" she repeated._

_The girl looked at her for a moment before shaking her head._

"_Are you hurt?"_

_Another shake._

"_Are you lost?"_

_Another shake._

"_Then why are you crying?"_

_The girl hiccupped a tiny bit from sobbing too hard._

"_M-my locket" she stuttered. _

"_These boys came up and stole it. I tried to get it back, but I can't find them"_

_She started crying again. She dried her tears off with the sleeve of her kimono._

_Mikomi had to pity for the girl. She thought it was silly for her to cry over something like that, but then again, maybe this locket was important to her._

"_Was this locket special or something?"_

"_Yes" she girl sobbed. "My parents gave it to me before they died. It's I have left of them"_

_Now Mikomi felt really bad. This girl lost the only artifact that was left of her parents. She knew that feeling all too well. She lost her parents and had nothing left to remind her of them. She had Naruto, but it wasn't the same as an object._

_Feeling bad for the poor girl, she knew she just had to help her._

"_Ok, I'll help you look for it"_

_The girl stopped her crying and looked at her._

"_Huh?"_

_Mikomi stood up._

"_I said I would help you look for it. I know what it feels like to lose your parents and have nothing left of them. So stop crying and let's look for these boys"_

_The girl dried her eyes._

"_Really?"_

"_Yep, now let's go and find your locket"_

_The girl smiled brightly._

"_Thank you"_

_Mikomi smiled._

"_Don't mention it. By the way, what's your name?"_

"_I'm Myou" she said as she stood up. She dusted the dirt from her kimono._

"_Well, it's nice to meet you Myou. I'm Mikomi"_

"_I know who you are. You're the daughter of the Fourth Hokage" _

_Mikomi smiled._

"_Well on that note, let's go"_

_They both walked out of the alley and started their search for the lost locket._

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_Myou followed closely to Mikomi as they walked the streets. She kept looking this way and that as if she had never seen them before._

"_You don't get out much often, do you?" Mikomi said as she looked at her._

_Myou blushed and fiddled with her sleeves._

"_W-well, being in the Hyuga clan can have its downsides. Since I'm from the Main branch, I'm not allowed to be out of the Hyuga compound for very long. The Byakugan is very special kekkei gankai and anyone could try to obtain it. Only the Branch members can go outside"_

"_If the Main Branch isn't allowed to go outside, then why are you?"_

"_W-well, I wanted to see what it was like out of the Hyuga compound, so I decided to take a look"_

"_You mean you snuck off?"_

_Myou lowered her head._

"_Yes" _

"_That's dangerous you know. What if your family members were looking for you and they couldn't find out? They would think that you were kidnapped or something"_

"_I know…but I just wanted to defy my clan for once"_

"_Huh?"_

_Myou looked at her._

"_My clan thinks they're so great, just because they have the Byakugan. I think it's unfair that they have to break up our clan into two branches and make the lower branch do all of the dirty for the higher branch. It's not right. I hate it that I'm part of the main branch and I just wanted to do something that a Main Branch couldn't do"_

_Mikomi looked at her surprised. Members of the Hyuga Clan usually didn't do things like that. Yet here was a Main Branch candidate trying to do just that._

"_You have to be the first rebellious noble that I've meet" she said._

_She wrapped her arm around her._

"_I like that"_

_Myou smiled._

"_Thank you"_

_They kept on walking for a bit. Myou looked at her companion from the corner of her eyes._

"_So...um"_

_Mikomi looked at her._

"_What's it like to be a…well…you know…"_

"_Jinchuriki?"_

"_Y-yeah"_

_Mikomi shrugged._

"_I guess it's no different from being a normal person. You just have someone to talk to when you're alone. Plus, you have special powers that you never had back when you were normal. I guess you could say that it has its ups and downs. The positive side is that you have super powers. The negative side is that…"_

"…_people fear you?" Myou added._

"_Yeah" Mikomi said quietly._

_She kicked a rock that was lying on the floor._

"_I'm sorry" Myou said_

_Mikomi looked at her._

"_For what?"_

"_I just feel bad that people treat you so badly. You didn't do anything wrong, so why should you be treated this way?"_

_Mikomi shrugged._

"_I guess everyone is still trying to cope with the fact that what my father did was to save the village. They may not understand it now, but I'm sure they will in the future"_

"_Thank you" _

"_Huh?"_

"_You said what your father did was to save the village, and you were right. If it wasn't for you, the nine tailed fox would still be attacking our village, so …thank you for saving our village"_

_Mikomi was at a loss for words. No one had ever thanked her for being a host to one of the foxes that nearly destroyed tier village. It felt different from how everyone else treated her._

_She blushed as she shoved her hands into her pockets._

"_You're welcome" she mumbled._

_She kept kicking at the rock that was in her way. _

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_After searching for fifteen minutes, they still couldn't find the boys. Myou started to panic. _

"_Oh no. What if we never find them?"_

"_We'll find them. Since we search all of the obvious places that they could be at, we'll just try the one place that no one would ever think of looking at"_

"_Where's that?"_

_Mikomi smiled._

"_School"_

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_Sure enough, the boys were there when they entered the school grounds. They were all huddled in a group as they looked at something in one of the boy's hands. _

"_Do you think this will sell for a lot?" _

"_Don't know, but we could always try to take it to a pawn shop to see how much it's worth" _

"_Man, nobles always have fancy jewelry"_

"_Well we have some too"_

"_Hey!"_

_They all turned around to see Mikomi in front of them. She had her hands on her hips that made her look important. Myou hid behind her in fear. She was glad that they found the boys, but she was also afraid of what was about to happen._

_The boys sneered at Mikomi._

"_Look, it's the village freak"_

"_Look out, she's gonna kill you"_

_Mikomi glared at them. She didn't like being called a freak. It was a bad word in her family._

"_I see you like taking things from a girl huh? Do you prefer jewelry and dolls over weapons and video games?"_

"_No! This locket looks like it could sell for a lot of money. We were going to try to get some extra cash"_

"_And you stuck with stealing people things? That's pretty pathetic. And you call yourselves ninja"  
The boy who was holding the locket jabbed a finger at her._

"_What would you know? You never lived the life of a commoner. We all know that when you're dad was Hokage, he would spoil you and lived in the big life. You don't know how hard it is to live like we do"_

_Mikomi flashed stepped and kneed him in the gut. His grip on the locket loosened and he crumpled up in a heap._

_She grabbed the locket before anyone else could. She stood over the boy as he held his stomach._

_I may have been spoiled, but I know what it's like to live like you. My dad isn't Hokage anymore, so don't treat me like I'm some spoiled brat"_

_The boys that were standing closed in on her.  
"Get her!" _

_She dodged them easily and kicked them where it would hurt the most. She flashed stepped and knocked them over with one of Yuri's famous wrestling moves. They were scattered around in giant heaps. Mikomi stepped on the boy who had the locket before as she passed by._

"_If I ever see you stealing from someone again. I'll do more than just hit you"_

_She walked over to Myou and held out her locket._

"_I believe this belongs to you?"_

_Myou's eyes lit up as it looked at her locket._

"_My locket!" she cried as she took it. "Thank you!"_

_She opened it up to show a picture of her parent's. Mikomi looked at them with a smile._

"_I bet your parents are glad that you have their locket back"_

_Myou nodded and placed it around her neck. She had tears in her eyes as she looked at her._

"_Thank you so much"_

"_Don't mention it. Now why don't we head back to your compound before everyone starts looking for you?"_

_Myou nodded and followed Mikomi back to her house._

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_Myou walked to the front gates of her compound. She looked over her shoulder to see Mikomi standing a few feet away._

"_Do you want to come in?" she asked._

_Mikomi looked uncomfortable and she scratched the back of her head._

"_I don't think that's such a good idea. I don't think you're family will like a Jinchuriki in their house'  
"But you haven't done anything wrong"_

"_I know, but like I said, it'll take some time for everyone to accept what my father did"_

_Myou looked at the ground._

"_Will I see you again?'_

_Mikomi shrugged._

"_If you're family let's you, I guess. But I don't know if it's such a good idea to be around me."_

_She walked away and waved._

"_It was nice meeting you. You stay out of trouble now"_

_Myou held her locket tightly._

"_I'll try to find a way where we can be together! I'll defy my clan just so I can be with you!"_

_Mikomi laughed._

"_Now you're making it sound like we're forbidden lovers"_

_Myou blushed deeply._

"_That's not what I meant! I don't care what my clan says. You're a nice person and I want to be around you"_

_Mikomi smiled over her shoulder._

"_Good luck with that"_

"_Don't worry. I'll make it happen!"_

_End of Flashback_

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And she did make it happen. After that day. Myou enrolled into the ninja academy and trained to become a ninja just so she could stay out of the clan compounds. She even enrolled to Anbu Black Ops when she heard that Mikomi was a captain.

Mikomi had to admit that she was really lucky to have meet Myou. She had to be the first person in Konoha that wanted to be her friend since she became a Jinchuriki.

Myou looked at her Capitan when she saw her smile.

"Is something wrong, Captain?"

Mikomi shook her head.

"No. I was just thinking about something"

"It wasn't bad I hope"

"Nope, it was actually pretty good"

Myou smiled.

"Well that's good to hear"

The cat the Mikomi was holding meowed in protest.

"Oh yeah. I almost forgot about you"

She decided to let Yugito take care of the pesky fur ball since she was so good with cats. She looked over her shoulder to see Myou still standing.

"Hey, Myou. You want to come over to my house? I have some friends that I want to you meet"

Myou's face lit up at the prospect of spending time with her captain.

"I would love to!"

She ran after her captain with a slight skip in her step.

No matter how many times Mikomi told herself, she was always glad that she had such a loyal lieutenant like Myou.

"People like her are hard to come by" Usagi said.

Mikomi had to agree with her.

As they walked, she wondered how her lieutenant would react to her crazy friends.

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**A/N: And there you go. It looks like Mikomi had a friend when she was a kid after all. **

**I hope this was to your liking. The next chapter will be the start of the exams finally. I wonder how Naruto will do in them.**

**Send in your reviews to find out**

**JA ne**


	24. First Exam and Lunch Date

Chapter 24: First Exam and Lunch Date

**A/N: We now come to the first phase of the exams. While Naruto struggles to complete the exam, we see what our favorite heroes do while they wait for the blonde knuckle head.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do however own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto Masaki, Taimat, and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

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Naruto was sweating bullets as he headed to where the first exam would take place. Mikomi went with him so she could see him and his team off. AVALANCE helped him out greatly by giving him every single materia that they own (or at least what Yuffie owned). He had them all sealed up inside a scroll and kept it hidden until he needed it.

As they drew near to the examining room, Naruto started to grow more nervous. He fiddled with the hem of his shirt as they walked. Mikomi looked at her brother. She thought that he would be more excited about the exams. Perhaps it was his nerves getting to him.

"You nervous, Naruto?"

Naruto looked at his sister and blushed.

"N-no. Why would I be nervous? I'm just excited, that's all"

"Uh-huh"

"….ok, maybe I am a little nervous. I don't know what to expect from these exams. I want to pass, but I don't know how to. Do you know what I mean?"

"I understand you perfectly, Naruto" She said. "When I took the Chunin exams, I didn't know what to expect from it. I couldn't eat or sleep for a week until the exams were over"

"Really?"

"Yep. But dad told that there was nothing to worry about and that no matter what I did, he would be proud of me"

"Dad said that?"

Mikomi mentally flinched at her stupidity. She never spoke about their parents in front of him. It's not that she didn't want to; she just didn't want him to look down on their dad for what he did to them. He idolized the Fourth Hokage greatly; she didn't want to ruin that by telling him that he was their father and that he sealed the fox demons inside of them.

Before Naruto could ask about their dad, Sasuke and Sakura came up to them.

"Hey, Naruto. Glad you could make it" Naruto grinned at his teammates.

"Hey, Sakura. Are you excited about the exams?"

"I'm more worried than I am excited. How about you Sasuke?"

Naruto slumped forward as Sakura paid her attention to Sasuke and not him. The Uchiha didn't really say anything except 'whatever'.

Mikomi smiled at them. This almost reminded her of when she and her team were in the exams. Obito was excited. Kakashi was calm and collective. And she was a nervous wreck. It amazed her how she saw her old team inside of her brother's.

Kakashi stood by the door that would lead them to the exams. His eye curled up when he caught sight of Mikomi. She blushed as he looked at her. She was still embarrassed with the whole cat mission fiasco.

"I'm glad that you all made it" He said as he looked at his students. "As of today, you are no longer regular Genin. The missions and dangers you faced compare to nothing with what lies ahead. Give it your best and remember that I'll always be proud of you"

Mikomi smiled as Kakashi recited the same speech her dad gave them when they were in the exams.

She crouched down and gave her brother a big hug.

"You be careful now, and I'm proud of you for making it this far"

He returned the hug with equal force.

Looking at Sasuke and Sakura, she held out an arm to them.

"Do you guys want a good luck hug too? I'm sure you'll need it"

Sakura accepted the hug and returned one to her. Sasuke just stood where he was at.

"What's the matter, Sasuke? Too good to receive a hug?"

Sasuke blushed a bit.

"N-no"

"Then what are you waiting for? Join in"

Sasuke didn't say anything as he went over to them.

"If you say anything, I will deny being a part of this"

He blushed when he felt himself being pushed into Mikomi's large chest. Naruto laughed at his expression, but Sakura hit him. Sasuke had to admit that it was nice being hugged like this. It reminded him of when his mom would hug him. He was tempted to stay like this for a while, but he remembered that his teammates and sensei were present.

He quickly let go and walked away in a hurry.

"Come on. We don't have time to waste"

Sakura waved before following him.

"Good bye, Mikomi –Sensei. We'll see you when this is over"

Naruto gave his sister one last hug.

"Bye, nee-chan. I have this done in no time"

"Just take your time on this, Otoutou" she said. "I don't want you to rush it and do poorly"

"Whatever you say, Nee-chan"

He ran after his team and went into the room where the first exam was to be held.

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She sighed sadly as she saw her brother's body disappear. It was all up to him now. She could help him with the dangers that were ahead.

"You nervous?" Kakashi asked.

Mikomi gave him an uneasy smile.

"Would you believe me if I said that I wasn't?"

"Probably not"

"Then I guess it's pointless to say no then"

Kakashi went up to her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Mikomi. There's nothing to worry about. I have faith in Naruto and I know he'll do well"

"I'm not worried about if he'll do good or not. I'm just worried if he'll make it out alive "

Kakashi pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry, Mikomi. Nothing will happen to Naruto. He'll probably come out with a scratch or two, but that's about it"

A light blush dusted across Mikomi's cheeks. She was being hugged and supported by her childhood crush. She hugged him back with equal force.

"I just don't want to lose him" She whispered.

"You won't lose him. I bet that when this is over, you'll be the first person he goes to. It's always been like that"

Mikomi smiled slightly.

"Not anymore. Now he goes to Cloud when I'm not there. He's taken the title as Ni-San to him"

She pulled back.

"I should get going. Standing around here won't settle my nerves"

She turned around to leave.

"Mikomi"

She turned back to see Kakashi blushing a bit as he scratched his head.

"What is it, Kakashi?"

"Um…I was wondering if you weren't doing anything…if you would like to go out and eat with me or something."

She blinked.

"_Is he asking me out on a date?"_

"You mean like a date?"

Kakashi's blush deepened.

"Yes"

Mikomi just looked at him. Here she was with her crush and he asked her out. Could this get any better?

A grin spread across her face.

"I would love to"

Kakashi looked surprised.

"R-really?"

"Yes. We never hang out anymore so this could be the perfect time to catch up"

Kakashi managed to smile behind his mask.

"Ok. Let's go then"

He held out his arm for her to take. She blushed as she linked arms with him.

"_This is too good to be true!"_

"Tell me about it. I was wondering when Kakashi would put a move on you. Just wait until Yuri hears about this"

The thought about Yuri finding out made the color in her face drain. If Yuri got word of this, then she would surly tell the guys about this, and if the guys found out about this then they would be spying on her until she came home.

"_Yuri will not find out. And if you want to have your next meal, you will do well to keep your mouth shut, Usagi"_

She could hear the fox gasped.

"I didn't see anything!"

"_Good girl"_

Kakashi looked at her.

"Are you ok, Mikomi?"

Mikomi smiled at him.

"Oh, I'm fine Kakashi. Let's just enjoy the day"

They both walked out into the sunlit streets of Konoha without a care in the world.

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Kakashi laughed as Mikomi told them about her time in Midgar. He found it very fascinating that she ended up in another world.

"Did you really pull of Tsunade's move on this Reno guy?" He asked.

"I sure did. That pervert was asking for it"

Kakashi wiped the tear that was in his eye.

"You are too much sometimes, Mikomi"

"I know, but you wouldn't have me any other way"

"True"

"So what did you do beside's beating up the local perv?"

"Well, I learned how to use a gun from Vincent. Yuffie showed me how to use materia. They're really helpful for when you're low on chakra. And I got to ride a motorcycle with Cloud"

"Sounds like you have fun in Midgar"

"I really did. Makes me feel sad that I had to leave"  
"why?"

"Well…it's interesting there. Plus, you don't have people giving you the dirty look every time you pass by"

Kakashi looked at her sad expression.

"Mikomi" he said.

She waved him off.

"I know, I know. I shouldn't be thinking like that, but it's true. It really felt nice to be accepted for once by people. Sure, you and Yuri accept me. But it feels really great that I made new friends that want to stay by me. It's like I'm actually wanted for once"

Kakashi placed his hand on her face.

"You are wanted here, Mikomi. Everyone is just too blind to see that"

"Oh, really? Name one person who wants me here so badly?"

Kakashi blushed.

"I do" he said softly as he looked at the ground.

Mikomi's eyes were as wide as saucers. Did Kakashi just say that he wanted her near? Did that mean he liked her or something?

"Kakashi' she said softly.

Just when things were about to get romantic, it was sadly interrupted by the two loudest people in the village.

"OH, 'KOMI-CHAN!!!"

"KAKASHI!"

Guy and Yuri came out of nowhere and stood before them.

"There you are, 'Komi-chan. I've been looking all over the village for you." Yuri said.

She suddenly spotted Kakashi and immediately knew what was going on.

Guy on the other hand didn't and he was jabbing his finger at his supposed rival.

"So this is where you have been hiding! Are you too ashamed to face you're rival that you have to hide here? Ha ha! Think again, Kakashi, for I, Might Guy, am here to challenge you! Today is the day where I beat our tie and gain victory! And when that happens, I shall ask the lovely Mikomi ou-"

He froze when he spotted Mikomi sitting next to Kakashi.

He started sweating bullets when he saw her confused face.

She waved at him lamely.

"Hi, Guy"

Guy made a funny pose as she spoke to him.

"Mikomi!" he shrieked in a high girly voice. "I didn't know you were here"

"I've been here this whole time"

"Oh, you have? Then that means you listened to my little speech?"

"Pretty much"

He turned around and had anime tears falling down his face.

"_No! I've made a fool out of myself in front of the lovely Mikomi! Now I'll never get the chance to ask her out! Oh, what I would do just to stand in her presence. To be near such a beauty is like a gift from heaven"_

He kept going on and on about how beautiful Mikomi was that he didn't listened to Yuri's conversation.

"So why are you here, Yuri?"

The medic had a fox like grin on her face as she looked at her goddaughter.

"Oh, noting really. I just wanted to know if you wanted to hang out, but it looks like you can't"

She suddenly burst into a set of squeals. She acted like a little fan girl for a moment.

"I can't believe this is actually happening! My little Komi-chan is finally on her first date! I never thought I would live to see this day"

This caught Guy's attention real fast.

"You're on a date with Kakashi!?"

"I guess you could say that, yeah"

Guy went into another fit of anime tears.

"_Curse you, Kakashi! You have taken Mikomi from me! Now I'll never be able to ask her out!"_

Yuri was still having her fan girl moment.

"Oh, you're dad was looking forward to this day! Well, he was actually dreading it, but I figured that he was looking forward to it. I can't believe how grown up my Komi-chan is! Wait until the guys hear about this!"

Mikomi paled at the thought of her godmother telling her friends.

"No! Don't tell the guys!"

"Why not? I'm sure they'll be thrilled. Well, maybe the girls will, but I'm sure the guys will too"

"Please, Yuri. Don't tell them that I'm on a date. They'll go ballistic if they found out. Please, I'll do anything!"

"Anything?" the medic asked slyly.

"Yes, anything"

Yuri's lips curled into a mischievous grin.

"Well…since you asked, I guess I could keep my mouth shut for once"

"Thank you"

"But on one condition: You have to spend quality time with me tomorrow and we have to do whatever I want. Deal?"

"Sure, whatever. If it'll make you stay quite about this"

"Ok then, I'll see you when you come home. Have fun on your date"

She pulled the still sulking Guy with her as she left.

Mikomi sighed in relief.

"That was close"

"Would it be so bad if your friends knew about our date?"

"Oh you have no idea. They would kill you if they found out. You should have seen what they did to the last guy that was checking me out"

She shuddered at the memory.

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_Last week_

_Yuri held up a blue summer dress in front of Mikomi._

"_What are you doing, Yuri?"_

"_I'm trying to decide if blue id the right color for you and it is! You'll look so cute in this dress that I found for you"_

_Mikomi looked at the dress in distaste._

"_I'm not wearing that"_

_Yuri pouted._

"_Oh come on, 'Komi-chan! At least try it on"_

"_No way. I don't do dresses"_

"_But you used to when you were little"_

"_That was when I was 6. I'm 18 and I don't do dresses anymore"_

_Yuri pouted._

"_Tifa, do you agree that this dress would look nice on Mikomi?" she asked as she showed the martial artist the dress._

"_Absolutely. I want to see Mikomi wearing a dress"_

"_Never gonna happen" Mikomi said as she flipped through a magazine._

"_Please Mikomi!" Yuri cried. "If you won't do it for me, then can you at least do it for your mom? I know she would have loved to see her daughter all grown up and wearing such a nice dress"_

_That got to Mikomi. She knew that her mom would want to see her in a dress too. _

"_You suck, you know that Yuri?"_

"_I do what I can, so are you going to wear the dress?"_

"_I guess I'll have to"_

"_Yay!"_

_Yuri started taking Mikomi's clothes off right in the living room._

"_Yuri! Not in the living room! The guys might come in!"_

"_Opps, sorry" _

_Mikomi snatched the dress from her and went upstairs._

"_You're unbelievable sometimes"_

_She came back down a minute later with the dress on. Yuri and Tifa were awe struck when they saw her. The dress fit her nicely and showed off all of the curves on her body. The top wasn't low cut but it showed off the top of her chest nicely. Mikomi picked up the hem of the dress and swayed a bit._

"_What do you think?"_

"_Mikomi, you look so cute" Tifa said._

_Yuri was bouncing on her feet._

"_I knew that dress would look good on you. We have to show the guys now"_

_She pulled her arm and dragged her outside. Mikomi protested._

"_No Yuri! I don't want the guys to see me!"_

"_But Mikomi, they'll want to see how cute you look"_

"_No, I'm not going outside in this. If they want to see me, they'll just have to come home"_

"_Too bad, so sad. We're going"_

_She kept pulling her while Tifa pushed her from behind._

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_It wasn't long before they found the guys at Ichiraku. Mikomi hid behind Tifa as they got closer. _

"_I don't want to do this" _

"_Relax. I 'm sure they'll think you're cute"_

"_This dress will ruin my reputation"  
"It won't ruin anything"_

_Yuri got in between Cid and Barret and put her arms over their shoulders._

"_Het guys, are you enjoying your meal?"_

"_We were until we were interrupted" Cid said between a mouthful of noodles._

_Yuri just patted him hard on the back so he would choke on his food._

"_What do you want, Yuri?" Cloud asked._

"_I thought you guys would like to see the new and improved Mikomi!"_

_She pulled her from behind Tifa and faced her to the guys. Mikomi's face was beat red and she hid her face behind her bangs._

_The guys were slightly surprised to see Mikomi in a dress, but they like it none the less._

"_Well, isn't that cute" Barret said._

"_It's not cute. It's beyond cute. This dress is totally not me"_

"_But you look so nice in a dress Mikomi. You should wear them more often"  
"No way. I'm a ninja. I have to fight and do all kinds of skills that a dress isn't required. It's just a waste of fabric"_

"_But I'm sure the boys will like it" Yuri said._

_As if on que, a guy passed by and gave her a whistle._

"_Hey baby, why don't we go out some time?"_

_He did all of these cat calls as he got closer. Cloud didn't take this well and drew his Buster Sword out._

"_What did you say to her?"_

_They guy froze and ran away. Cloud chased after him as he banished sword._

"_Get back here! I asked you a question and I expect an answer from you!" _

_Cid and Barret looked at Mikomi._

"_You are never to step outside with that dress on again, do you hear me?" Barret said._

_Mikomi sweat dropped._

"_Loud and clear"_

_End Flash back_

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Kakashi sweat dropped as he heard the story.

"Yikes"

"I know, so I need to keep this date on a down low, or else you'll have a date with Cloud's sword"

"I'll keep that in mind"

Mikomi got up and cracked her back.

"I might as well go. If I stay out too long, the guys will start to worry and start looking for me"

"Do you want me to take you home?"  
"That's ok. It would be better if I went alone. Don't want to cause a scene with the guys"

"I see"

"Well, see ya Kakashi. Thanks for asking me out"

Kakashi smiled.

"Any time"

She went to walk away but Kakashi stopped her.

"I almost forgot to give you something"

He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. Mikomi's face went red in seconds.

"You have a nice day Mikomi"

He left her in her own little world. Mikomi touched her cheek.

"_Kakashi kissed me"_

"He sure did, and right on the cheek too"

She was quiet for a moment before she burst into fan girl squeals.

"Kakashi kissed me!"

She quickly covered her mouth when she realized the she said that out loud.

When she made sure no one was looking, she started skipping back to her house.

"Today turned out to be a fine day"

And indeed it did. She was no longer worried about her brother or if he would pass to the next part of the exam. All she cared about was the fact that her crush finally kissed her.

She just hoped the guys wouldn't find out about this.

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**A/N: and there you have it. Mikomi finally got a kiss from the man of her dreams. Next chapter will be when the second part of the exam starts. That's where the trouble starts for Mikomi.**

**Remember to send in those lovely reviews.**

**Until then**

**Ja ne**


	25. When bad goes to worse

Chapter 25: When bad goes to worse

**A/N: Hello my loyal readers! Here's a really long chapter for you. Sorry it took so long to write, but the length of it should make it up. This is where all of the action takes place. It may not be very good, but at least it's something.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat. **

**Enjoy!**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

**Taimat Talking"**

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The first exam was over and done with. Naruto managed to pass with flying colors (even though he didn't fill out the exam).

Now everyone was starting the second stage and had to endured five days in the Forest of Death. Mikomi shuddered as she thought of that dreadful place. That was where the overly huge spiders were and she hated spiders. She didn't know how her brother would pass this stage without flipping out, or staying alive for that matter.

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Since she didn't have any missions to do, she thought it would be the perfect time to catch a few Z's before worrying about what to make for dinner.

It was nice out, so she decided to sunbath out on the roof. This one of her favorite pass times. She could get some sleep and get an awesome tan at the same time.

Putting on her sunglasses, she lay back down and let the sun cook her.

"'sigh', this is the life. No missions. No annoying brothers. Just me and my peace and quiet. Nothing can ruin this now"

"Captain!"

"Or it can"

Sitting up, she saw Myou running towards her house.

"Captain! Captain!"

Rolling her eyes, she got up and jumped down in front of her lieutenant.

"What is it Myou?"

Myou was in frenzy as she tried to catch her breath.

"Oh Captain. It's horrible, simply horrible"

"What is it?"

"A few of our members were patrolling around the Forest of Death and they found something"

Yuri came out to see what was going on.

"Oh hi, Myou. What brings you here?"

"We have a problem! Our team found three dead bodies near the second stage of the exams!"

"Dead bodies?"

"Already?"

"Yes, and very weird. Come see for yourself"

They followed the distressed Hyuga towards the crime scene of the day. Mikomi mentally sighed at the concept of her one day off being ruined.

"_Damn you exams"_

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They weren't the only ones who were notified by the disturbing news. Anko and a few other Jonin were surrounded by the bodies.

Mikomi waved at Anko.

"Hey Anko. I didn't know you were called here"

"As proctor of the second exam, I have to know what's going on here"

Yuri turned the Jonin that was inspecting the bodies.

"What do we have?"

"Judging from their belongings and papers we found, they were ninja from the village hidden in the grass and were registered to take part in the exams"

Yuri bent down and turned one of the heads for inspection. Her face paled at what she saw.

"As you can see… their features are completely gone…the faces as smooth as thought they were melted away"

Myou freaked out.

"It's like this every time the exams are around! Someone dies a strange death and it just means trouble! What are we going to do?!"

She continued to freak out and left her captain to the inspection. Mikomi and Anko crouched down next to Yuri.

"This was done by no ordinary ninja" Mikomi analyzed.

Yuri nodded.

"I know only one person who could pull this off"

Anko paled dramatically.

"Do you mean he's here?"  
"Yep"

Anko jumped to her feet and started barking out orders.

"Report this to the Hokage at once!"

Mikomi rounded on Myou.

"Report this to our squad and order them to search the forest. We have an S-Rank criminal running around in the exam and he needs to be caught"

Myou nodded and disappeared.

Yuri grounded her teeth.

"Orochimaru, what are you up to?"  
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The front door banged open as Mikomi barged in. Cid woke up from his nap and fell off the couch.

"Who the hell is making all that racket?"

She just ignored him and started pulling things out of the weapons closet.

Yuri ran in and locked the door.

"Where's Barret?"

"He's upstairs" Cid said as he got back on the couch.

"BARRET!" Yuri shouted at the top of her lings.

Cid had to cover his ears.

"Damn it Yuri! You almost blew my eardrums out!"

"No time for complaining. We have a serious problem on our hands"

Barret came downstairs within seconds.

"What's up?"

"Keep Denzel and Marlene inside at all times until I say so"

"What for?"

"We have a killer on the loose and we don't know where he's at"

Mikomi strapped her sword to her waist.

"I'm going to check in the forest of death. If Orochimaru is disguised as a candidate for the exam then our best bet is that he's participating in the second exam"

She didn't want to say that she wanted to check up on Naruto as well.

Yuri stopped her before she could step outside.

"You're not going alone. That place is dangerous even without Orochimaru in the picture"

"What do you want me to do? My platoon is already searching around the forest. I can't find any replacements on such short notice"

"Then ask your friends or something. I don't want you to go alone"

Mikomi sighed with annoyance.

"_Who am I suppose to call on such short notice?"_

"Why not Bakuto? I'm sure he's dying for some action since he hasn't done anything"

She wasn't really fond of Usagi's pick. Bakuto was the last person she would ask for help. Then again, she really didn't have any options to pick from.

"_You owe me big time for this, Usagi"_

"OY! BAKUTO!"

Bakuto poked his head out of his room. His annoyed look was plastered on his face as he looked at his eternal rival.

"What do you want now you stupid fox?"

"Grab your weapons. A criminal snuck into the exams and we have to catch him"  
"And how does this involve me?"

"I need backup and I figured you would want to make yourself useful for once"

A tick mark appeared on his forehead.

"After hearing that comment, I refuse to help you with anything"

He shut his door and locked it.

Mikomi sighed. She wasn't about to give up just yet.

"_Time for Plan B"_

Walking up to his door, she did the only thing that would make Bakuto cave in.

"YUGITO!"

Yugito ran out of her room to see what her friend wanted.

"What is it Mikomi?"

Mikomi could hear Bakuto moving around in his room. She mentally smirked and acted out her part.

"Oh it's horrible, Yugito. There's a criminal interfering with the exams and needs to be stopped. I was going to go and stop him but I don't think I can do it on my own. It's too dangerous to go into the forest of death by myself and I want to see if Naruto is ok"

She put on her fake water works to further her plan.

"Nobody will help me track down this crazy nut job! Naruto could be dead because nobody will help me! What am I going to do? I could lose my brother because I wasn't able to do anything!"

She started to 'cry' in front of Yugito. The Cloud ninja must have fell for it because she tried comforting her.

"There, there. It's going to be ok, Mikomi"

"No it's not. I need to find this nut job but no one will help me!"

"Don't be silly. I'll help you"

She looked at her with fake tears still in her eyes.

"Really?"

"Absolutely. You've become a dear friend of mine and have done so much for Bakuto and I"

Mikomi wiped away her 'tears'.

"But... it's going to be dangerous. It isn't called the forest of death for nothing"

"Relax. I'm a Jonin. I can take on anything that comes my way. Let's go get this psycho path and put him out of our misery"

Just then, Bakuto opened his door and came out with his swords strapped to his back.

"I'm coming too"

He glared at Mikomi who acted all innocent.

"But I thought you said you didn't want to help?"

"I changed my mind. I don't think I can stand another minute of doing nothing in this house, and if I have to hear Yuri sing one more time I'm gonna blow my brains out"

Yugito smiled at her boyfriend.

"Oh, Bakuto. You're so sweet. I'll be ready in a minute, just let me go get my things"

She went back into her room and left the two rivals alone.

Mikomi grinned at Bakuto who just glared at her still.

"I win" she said in a singing voice.

Bakuto just gave her the finger.

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Yuri frowned at Mikomi's group. Three people wouldn't be enough to track down Orochimaru. It was obvious that Mikomi purposely didn't ask AVALANCE for help. She could never ask them to do anything.

Yuri had put this into her own hands.

"GUYS!"

Rapid footsteps were heard as everyone came down stairs.

"What's wrong, Yuri?" Tifa asked.

The medic held back the grin that was threatening to appear.

"Ok. I have some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that an S-rank criminal and broken into the exam and is possibly a threat to Naruto"

"And the good news?"

"The good news is that our lovely 'Komi-chan was brave enough to volunteer to go into the forest of death and try to capture this nut job" she beamed as she hugged her goddaughter.

Mikomi glared as she realized what her godmother was up to.

Yuffie raised her hand.

"Question, why is it called the forest of death?"

"Well, people usually die in there when they partake in the exams. It wouldn't be called the forest of death if people didn't get killed"

"I have another question, who's this S-rank criminal?"

"Why it's none other than Orochimaru"

Mikomi had told them about Orochimaru when she was stuck in Midgar. She explained to them that he was like Konoha's version of Sephiroth and that you didn't want to mess with him.

"And on that note, I should be leaving. Don't want Orochimaru to get away"

She went to walk away when Yuffie pounced on her.

"You can't go, 'Komi-chan, you'll get killed!"

She pushed her off and stood up.

"I'll be fine. Bakuto and Yugito are going with me so it's not like I'm going by myself. I'll be fine"

"But it's Orochimaru! You said that he was bad news and that he isn't someone that you want to be around"

"I did say that, but lives are at stake, including my brothers. If no one is going to stop him, then I will"

"Be reasonable Mikomi" Tifa said.

"I am being reasonable. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some searching to do"

She went to open the door only to have Cloud blocking it.

"Not you too, Cloud"

"You're not going alone"  
"I just told you that I wasn't! Bakuto and Yugito are going with me"

"You know what I mean. You're not going without one of us"

By 'us' she knew he meant AVALANCE.

"No way. The forest of death is dangerous. You don't know how to perform any Justus to begin with. You'll get yourself killed within the first few minutes you step in"

Cloud didn't move and just gave her one of his looks. Through the time that Mikomi has spent with him, she had become his little sister. There was no way that he was going to let another dear person to him die again.

Tifa came up to Mikomi.

"Let us go with, Mikomi. We don't want to see you get hurt"

"But Tifa"

"Please Mikomi? You're very dear to us. I don't want to let anything bad happen to my best friend"

Mikomi sighed.

"You're not going to let me go until I say yes aren't you?"

"Not if it means you'll be safe"

She looked at her friends wearily.

"I suggest you pack a lot of weapons with you, and bring every single material that you own. We'll be stepping into the most dangerous place in Konoha"

Yuri beamed as her plan worked. She gave Mikomi a thumbs up.

Mikomi swear dropped.

"_God damn you Yuri"_

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The Forest of Death gave off this murderous aura. Shivers went down her spine as she looked at the death trap for the second exam. The whole area was caged up so that all of the deadly animals and plants could be kept from society. Barbed wire wrapped itself around the metal poles as a way to keep people in without breaking out. This place was hell to her. Nobody would go in and nobody would come out. Only the strong could survive here.

Yuri smiled as she looked at the caged fence.

"Man, this brings back memories" she sighed.

Mikomi rolled her eyes.

"Alright guys, this is the Forest of Death. This is where we keep our most deadly plants and animals. If a ninja doesn't kill you, this place surely will. Now who's ready to go in?"

She turned to her friends to find them rooted to where they were standing. Yuffie was shaking as she looked at the forest.

"This place gives me the creeps"

"You wanted to go with, so deal with it"

"I didn't know that it would be this scary! I think I'll just go back home and wait for you guys"

Yuri grabbed her by the shoulder.

"Yuffie, Yuffie. There's nothing to worry about. You have two Konoha ninja's who know this place like the back of their hands. As long as you stick with us, then there's nothing to worry about"

Yuffie gulped but stayed put.

Myou nervously looked at Mikomi.

"Um, Captain? …I know this is a very serious situation and everything, but I don't think I can handle large, deadly animals. Is it ok if I just wait out here?"

Mikomi gave her a reassuring smile.

"That's fine. I need you to report to Hokage-Sama anyway about the situation. I'm sure he'll want to know who's taking care of Orochimaru"

Myou smiled in relief.

"Thank you Captain. I'll let him know right away"

She ran off to inform Sarutobi about the situation.

"Is there anybody else who's chickened out?"

When she saw nobody raise their hand she grinned.

"Good. Now let's get this over with"

She went to one of the doors the lead them into the forest. It creaked in protest, indicating that is hadn't been used in a while.

"Alright guys, follow me"

They silently went into the death trap known as the Forest of Death.

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The sky went from day into night as they walked through the trees. The forest was so deep and vast that not even a speak of sunlight could seep through. Strange noises could be heard everywhere. Some were from animals, some were unknown.

"Be careful where you step. Chances are that everywhere is rigged with traps"

Yuffie looked like an idiot as she 'carefully' walked forward. Cid poked his spear in the ground in front of him to make sure it was safe.

Yuri pulled out a map that had the whole layout of the forest.

"If we don't run into Orochimaru any time soon, then we'll head for the central tower that's located in the center of the forest and check the security camera's to see if we can find him that way"

"If we can find him" Bakuto said. "Finding that snake in this forest is like looking for a needle in a haystack. There's no way that we'll find him in time"

"Ah, that is where you are wrong Baku-kun" Yuri chimed.

She pulled out a scroll from her trench coat.

"You should know that I was on the same team as Orochimaru when we were kids. I was the sealing expert in our group"

"So? What does that have to do with finding Orochimaru?"

Yuri unrolled the scroll that she was holding.

"It has to with everything. Since I do a sealing expert that means I'm able to seal someone's chakra without them know"

She did a handsign and produced a vial of a glowing substance.

"This right here is Orochimaru's chakra. If I have just a tiny bit of it, I can use it to track him down. Think of it as how a dog can track a scent"

Mikomi looked at her godmother. That was impressive for someone like her. But then again, Yuri was a lot smarter than what she looked. She could create a complex battle strategy within minutes.

"That's great. But who are we going to find Orochimaru with just a tiny bottle of chakra?"

"Like so"

Yuri pulled out one of her arrows and poured it on the arrow head.

"Since this is his chakra, it'll want to go back into his body. All we have to do is follow the path it takes us"

She notched the arrow to her bow and fired. It zipped through the trees at lightning speed. At the end of the arrow, Yuri had a chakra string tied to it.

"And now we search for him"

"Great. This'll be fun" Bakuto said sarcastically.

"Cheer up, Bakuto" Yugito said. "It could be worse"

"How?"

"We could run into some man eating plants" Mikomi said.

Yuri led the way as they followed the path her arrow left.

"We're going to get lost, I just know it" Cid said.

"At least we're all together. It won't be so bad that way" Tifa said.

Cid just sighed at her logic.

"If we get killed here, I'm blaming you"

They walked deeper into the forest, never realizing that they were being watched by a pair of snake like eyes.

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"This place sure is creepy" Barret said as he stepped over a paper bomb.

"It's supposed to be. This is a test to see how well you can cope with fear" Mikomi said.

She used her sword to chop through branches that were in there way.

"Why would you be tested on something like that?"

"Because a ninja is not supposed to know fear. They must be brave and face any obstacle that comes in their way. If a ninja get's afraid easily, then they can't fulfill their mission. You know what I'm saying?" Yuri said

"I guess. But why a forest? What can be so scary about a forest?"

"Forests are so unpredictable. You don't know what lives among the vast trees such as these. Here, there are genetically enlarged animals and insects. Deadly plants grow here and can blend well with regular plants. Genjutsu spells are places over certain areas of the forest so you don't know if what you're seeing is real or not. A forest is the perfect place to test someone's fear"

Mikomi just rolled her eyes at Yuri's logic and continued walking.

"Your logic scares me sometimes, Yuri. How you are able to explain things so well is beyond me"

Yuri laughed.

"Well, that's what your dad told you when you were taking the exams. He didn't want you to freak out while you were in the second exam"

"That didn't really help since I almost got killed by a spider. He should have warned me that there were spiders that were as big as a house living here"

"How was he supposed to know? Besides, he couldn't just tell what lived here, that would be cheating. He wanted you to find out on your own"

"I learned alright. I learned that spiders are evil and they must be killed"

"Oh yeah, you're afraid of spiders" Yuffie said.

Bakuto snorted.

"You're afraid of spiders? How pathetic"

Mikomi glared at him.

"And I take it that you aren't afraid of anything?"

"That's right. A real ninja should never be afraid of anything. He must take everything in calmly"

"Oh really?"

He flash stepped in front of Yugito and held a knife to her throat.

"So I suppose that if I were going to kill Yugito right here and now that you would take this calmly?"

Bakuto charged at her and kicked her in the gut. She went flying and crashed into Vincent.

"Don't you dare lay a finger on Yugito?"

"Bakuto, calm down. She wasn't really going to do anything" Yugito said.

"I don't care. I don't like seeing a weapon so close to you like that"

Mikomi laughed as Vincent picked her up.

"Oh, this is rich. You act like any other boyfriend."

She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"You're afraid of losing Yugito. That's sweet, but since this is you, that's also funny"

She continued laughing as Bakuto fumed at her.

"Listen you. At least I have someone who loves me, even though I'm a Jinchuriki"

Mikomi stopped laughing and looked serious.

"Oh, are you saying that just because I'm a Jinchuriki that it means that I won't find Mr. Right?"

"No. You're just a stubborn, obnoxious brat who takes everything as a joke. You don't take everything seriously and act like a kid. What kind of guy would want to be with you?"

Mikomi got right into his face.

"Oh really? Well you are a stubborn, arrogant know it all who has a stick up his ass and gives everyone the cold shoulder. What Yugito sees in you is beyond me"

"I am not cold; I just act like that because you drive me nuts"

"Well that makes two of us. You take everything so seriously that I bet you don't even know what fun is"  
"I do too, except my type of fun doesn't involve acting like a 4 year old on a sugar buzz"

"I act like a four year old? You're the one who acts like a four year old with all those temper tantrums you have"

"Why you"

They head a lighting between the eyes moment as they head butt each other.

Yuri sighed.

"You two will never change"

She pulled them apart before they could do anything.

"Alright you two, that's enough. We don't have time for these cat fights, so save it for later, ok?"

She held up the chakra string that she was holding.

"Now let's go find Orochimaru before it gets dark. A lot of creepy things come out when it's night time"

She walked away with a skip in her step.

Mikomi and Bakuto just glared at each other as they walked.

"Stupid Fox"

"Damn Dragon"

Yugito sighed as she followed them with AVALANCE.

"I'll never understand them" she said.

"Neither will we" Tifa said.

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"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"No"

"How about now?"

"No"

Yuri wrapped the extra chakra string around her arm as they continued on. Mikomi and Bakuto were having a glaring match and had to have Yugito stand in between them so a fight wouldn't break out.

Red Xlll kept sniffing the air to see if he could find a scent.

"Did you find anything yet, Red?" Cloud asked.

"Not yet. I kept getting all of these scents though"

"It's probably from everyone who's taking this exam"

"And I keep smelling dog"

"That's probably Akamaru. He belongs to Kiba Inuzuka. They're experts when it comes to dogs"

Cat Sith jumped onto Red's head.

"Sounds like someone you could get along with"

"I highly doubt that they'll want to associate with a talking canine"

"Oh, they wouldn't mind" Mikomi said. She got tired of glaring at Bakuto for now.

"The Inuzuka's train the ninja dogs to talk. How else is Pakkun able to speak? I'm sure you would fit well with them"

"Really?"

"Sure. In fact, if we run into Kiba, I'll introduce you to him"

Red Xlll managed to smile.

"I'd like that"

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Yuri stopped in her tracks as they got to a certain part of the forest.

"Uh-oh"

"What's wrong?"

"We have a slight problem" the medic said.

"What's the problem; we're not lost are we?" Mikomi asked.

"No, no. We just might have a little problem with the trail"

"What do you mean?"

"The chakra string leads into the spider infested part of the forest"

Mikomi skidded to a stop.

"See ya"

She turned around and made a run for it.

Yuri pulled her back.

"Now, Mikomi. You need to face your fears and be a big girl"

"I don't have to face shit. You know what happened last time. I almost lost my leg thanks to those little bastards"

"Now there's no need for the potty mouth. You need to go in there and face your fears"

"Can't we just go a different way?"

"That'll take too much time. There's nothing to worry about, I'll be here and so are your friends"

Tifa patted her on the shoulder.

"It'll be ok Mikomi"

She just whimpered.  
Bakuto snickered.

"Aww. Is the little fox afraid of an itty bitty spider?"

Mikomi glared at him.

"Shut up, you damn dragon! There's nothing little about these spiders. They're as big as a house! They'll eat you whole if they had the chance"

"Bakuto just waved her off.

"Please. As if a spider could grow that big. You're just exaggerating just so everyone could feel sorry for you and let you stay. You're such a baby"

"I'm not a baby!" she fumed.

"Yeah you are. You won't go through the forest because it's filled with spiders. That's just pathetic"

"I am not pathetic!"

"Oh yeah? Then prove it"

Mikomi clenched her fists and looked at the spider infested forest. She squared her body off and marched right into the web infested trees.

She looked determined on the outside, but inside she was screaming like a little girl.

Yuri quickly followed after her, knowing that her goddaughter would panic once she was out of sight of Bakuto. She looked at the dragon as she passed.

"If I lose my goddaughter to a spider. You'll have to deal with a very scary godmother"

Mikomi screamed a tiny bit, indicating that Yuri should hurry after her.

Tifa followed behind.

"Poor Mikomi "

Everyone else leisurely followed into the spider forest.

Bakuto was the last to enter.

"This is either going to be rather interesting or rather bad"

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Webs covered every branch as they walked. You couldn't take one step without bumping into the sticky mess.

Mikomi walked close with Yuri as they went forward. She lost her cool exterior five seconds after she stepped into the forest. She didn't see any spiders yet, but it was just a matter of time.

Yuri could feel her shaking as she held onto her arm. She couldn't blame her for being terrified. Konoha spiders were the nastiest insects that roamed the shinobi nations. Only a nut wouldn't be afraid.

Barret wiped the cobwebs that he brushed past.

"This place gives me the creeps"

Yuffie was shaking as she walked.

"How come we haven't seen any spiders yet?"

"They're probably eating the corpses that they found from the exams" Yuri said.

Cloud had to use his Buster sword to swat away nearby webs.

"This place is like a jungle. Why are they cramped up in one area of the forest?"

"The spiders here like to be in one location. Moving around can be dangerous for the smaller kinds of spiders. In a way it's convenient."

"How so?"

"If they were roaming around the forest, we would be dead by now. The smaller the spiders are, the deadlier their venom is"

Mikomi whimpered at the mention of venom.

Some rustling in the bushes caused them to stop.

Yuri pulled out an arrow and aimed it at the bush. A spider no big than the size of a melon scurried out. Mikomi flipped out and jumped into Tifa's arms.

"Don't let it get me!"

Bakuto rolled his eyes.

"Relax you big baby. It's just a little one. I doubt it could do any serious damage."

The spider went back into the bushes and pulled out a half eaten corpse.

"Is that a half eaten corpse?" Barret asked.

"Uh-huh" Cloud said.

The spider ripped off an arm and started eating it. Yuri fired off her bow and hit the little monster. The spider let out a high screech and withered in pain before it died. Green venom oozed out of its body and melted anything that was in its way.

Mikomi slowly let go of Tifa and went to Yuri.

"Did you kill it?"

"Yep, but my arrow is ruined thanks to its venom"

Mikomi shivered as she spotted the venom. That was what nearly made her lose her leg.

The sound of something moving caught everyone's attention.

"What the hell is that?" Cid said.

Yuri looked up to a horrifying sight. Up in the trees lurked hundreds of spiders. This wasn't good.

"Guys, we need to move now. And Mikomi, whatever you do, don't look up"

Yuri's orders fell on deaf ears as Mikomi craned her neck to see where the noise was coming from. Her blood ran cold as she saw the giant spiders. She almost let out a blood curltling scream before Yuri covered her mouth.

"Come on, let's move!"

Everyone ran as the spiders came down in groups. They hissed as they got closer to them. Vincent and Barret fired at them when they got too close. It didn't help much since they were coming from everywhere.

"Split up! The exit is straight ahead so go forward!" Yuri yelled.

Everyone divided up into smaller groups to lure the spiders away.

Mikomi ran after Bakuto and Yugito as the spiders followed them. Tifa ran near her and grabbed her hand.

"Come on, Mikomi. Let's get out of here"

"No need to tell me that twice!"

Sending chakra to her feet, she performed flash step and ran ahead of the group. That proved to be pointless since she tripped over a loose root and landed smack into a spider's web. She started to panic when she couldn't get loose.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"

Mikomi looked up to see a giant spider coming down the web. Venom dripped from its pincers as it got closer.

"It looks like I caught myself a little snack. How fortunate of me"

Mikomi screamed at the top of her lungs, hoping that someone would hear her.

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Yuri could hear Mikomi's screams from a mile away.

"Mikomi!"

She jumped over a spider that tried to get her and fired her bow.

"Hang on honey, I'm coming"

She flipped through the air and landed next to Cloud.

"Was that Mikomi who was just screaming?'

"Yeah, something must be terribly wrong"

Cloud performed Blade Beam and cleared a path for them.

Vincent caught up in his Chaos form and flew through the trees.

"Where is everyone?"

"I don't know, but I hope they made it to the exit"

"Where's Mikomi?"

"I think she got caught, which is not good"

Mikomi screamed again.

"Hang on Mikomi!"

They sprinted through the forest while attacking at any spider that crossed their path.

Yuri's blood boiled at the thought of a spider trying to eat her precious goddaughter.

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She whimpered as the spider got closer to her. Venom dripped from its pincers and melted anything it touched.

"What's the matter? Are you scared?"

She tried pulling herself out of the web, but it was no use.

"Don't bother. These are chakra infused webs. You'll never get free with brute strength alone. Now be a good little snack and stay still"

Mikomi just screamed again until her throat hurt.

"Now that's not being good" the spider said. "I think I'll need to fix that"

Tear welled up in her eyes as the pincers got in her face.

"Mikomi!" Tifa and Yuffie came out of nowhere.

"Hey You! Get away from Mikomi!"

Yuffie threw her giant shuriken and got the spider in the head. It hissed in pain and looked at them.

"Oh look, more treats I can snack on"

Tifa grinned as her plan went to work.

"Now Barret!"

Barret and Red Xlll came from behind and tackled the spider to the ground. Red Xlll bit through the web until Mikomi was set free.

Tifa ran over to her and helped her up.

"Are you, Mikomi?"

She just burst into tear and cried. Tifa held her and calmed her down.

Barret pulled them by the arms.

"We need to get out of here, let's go"

They ran after him. Mikomi ran as fast as she could until something wrapped around her ankle and pulled her back. She fell flat on her face and was pulled back. She screamed when she saw the spider had its web wrapped around her ankle and was pulling her back.

"My snack! Not yours!" Tifa and Barret tried pulling her back. It was like a tug of war with Mikomi in the middle. The spider pulled back hard and jerked Mikomi out of their grasp. It started wrapping its web around Mikomi.

"I can't let you get away, now can I?"

Mikomi tried getting away, but it was hard when she had stick web covering her body.

The spider seemed to drool as it picked Mikomi up to its face.

"Finally, a worthy meal in such a long time"

Mikomi tried pulling her arms free.

"Don't eat me!"

"But I'm so hungry, and you're so delicious looking. How can I pass such a fine opportunity?"

Mikomi screamed again as her head got close to its pincers.

"Hey, ugly. Look up"

Yuri jumped through the air and fired off her arrows. The spider hissed in pain and dropped Mikomi. Cloud slid under the spider and grabbed Mikomi before she could be eaten again.

"Are you ok, Mikomi?" He asked as he tried to pull the webs off of her.

She just screamed again.

"It's ok, Mikomi. You're not going to be eaten"

"Behind you!"

Cloud turned around to see the spider right behind him.

"My snack!" it hissed.

Cloud held Mikomi close to him with one hand and drew his Buster sword with the other.

"You're not going to have her!"

Bakuto appeared behind the spider with his katanas drawn.

"No one picks on my rival but me!"

He slid under the spider's belly like Cloud did and drove his swords into his stomach. The spider hissed in pain and buckled before collapsing. Venom spilled from its mouth as the life faded from its eyes.

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Yuri ran up her goddaughter to see that she was alright.

"Are you alright, Mikomi?"

She started pulling the webs off of her body in the process.

Mikomi didn't say anything at all. Instead, she just burst into tears and cried into her hands.

Cloud held her and rocked her a bit to calm her.

"It's ok. No one is going to get you"

Yuri smiled as she saw Cloud acting like that. It almost reminded her of how Minato would calm Mikomi down when was crying.

"_He is such a good brother to her" _she thought.

Bakuto put his swords away. He looked at Mikomi and was about to say something, but Yugito gave him a look.

"Don't be mean to her, Bakuto" she warned.

He looked at his rival's crying form and decided to let it go.

"_I'll be nice to her this onetime"_

"**Good boy, Bakuto. You're finally showing your compassionate side. Keep this you and you'll be friends in no time"**

A tick mark appeared as he listened to Taimat.

"_I don't want to be friends with her. She's my sworn enemy and she annoys the hell out of me. Why would I want a friend like her?"_

"**Because she's not like anyone else that you've meet. Every time you meet someone new, you just scare them away with your cold looks, but now that you've meet someone who can see past that, it makes you feel curious. I bet you're wondering why she isn't afraid of you"**

"_And I bet you're wondering why the village went against you and had you sealed up"_

"**That was mean! After all I've done for you; this is how you repay me!? I don't know what Yugito sees in you"**

'_Don't be bring that subject up again!"_

The two had a huge metal argue that they didn't even notice one of the members in their group was missing.

"Hey, where's Cid?"

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They managed to find Cid as they left the spider infested part of the forest. Apparently, a spider mistook him as one its babies and brought him back to its nest. Needless to say, it wasn't pretty trying to rescue him.

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"I've just about had it with this damn forest" Cid cursed as he picked the spiders webs off of him.

Everyone was feeling the same way. Mikomi was still crying abit as Tifa held her. Yuffie came up and hugged her too.

"You were right, 'Komi-chan. Spiders are evil"

Mikomi just sniffled and wiped her eyes.

Bakuto rolled his eyes.

"Can we please get this over with? I don't think I can take any more of this forest"

Yuri went to grab the chakra string, only to find that it was gone.

"Uh-oh"

"What is it now?"

"I might have lost our only source to Orochimaru"

"What?!"

This made Mikomi stop crying.

"What do you mean you lost it?"

"I don't know. I could have lost it while we were in the forest and trying to get away from the spiders"

Mikomi grabbed the bridge of her nose.

"So are you saying that we're lost?"

"Um, if you want to say it bluntly, then yes. Or you could say we're taking a slight detour"

It everything in her to not smack her head against a tree.

"_This is insane. We're going to die if we keep following Yuri like this. Usagi, can you trace Orochimaru's chakra?"_

"Sure, but it'll take me a few minutes"

"_Take as long as you like, just get me out of this hell hole"_

"Ok, just give me a minute"

She could feel Usagi's chakra stir within her. She drowned out her friends ranting and concentrated on her inner demons power.

"_Found him!"_

"Great! Lead the way, Usagi!"

She flashed stepped and left her friends behind in the process.

"'Komi-chan, where are you going?"

"I think she found something" Bakuto said.

He followed after.

"I'm not going to stand here and let Yuri lead us to our death"

Yugito followed after him.

Cloud and Tifa chased after Mikomi.

"Mikomi, you shouldn't run off like that. You could get hurt"

They all ran to catch up with their fox friend.

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She zipped through the trees with the intention to catch Orochimaru. She let Usagi guide her as the fox followed the chakra trail that the evil snake had left.

"_I'm going to skin that wretched snake alive when I get my hands on him!"_

Since Orochimaru was part of Yuri's team as a child, that meant she knew everything about the infamous Sanin. The power hungry man even tried to obtain her kekkei genkai a few times before Yuri sealed it. Her connection with Orochimaru ran deep.

"He's right up ahead! Be on your guard Mikomi"

Drawing some Kunai, she jumped of the branch that she was on and flew through the air. She flipped a few times before landing in front of none other than Orochimaru.

The look he gave her was a mixture of amusement and desire.

"_Still after my eyes, are you?"_

"My, my. You sure have grown since the last time that I saw you, little Mikomi"

She growled at the nickname that he gave her. He used that when she was a child.

"What are you doing in the exams, Orochimaru?"

"Oh, you mean I wasn't allowed to compete? I thought Genin were allowed to compete in these exams" he said as he indicated to his disguise.

"_He dressed up as that grass ninja that Myou found"_

"Why did you kill those ninja? Were they just another bunch of toys that you got bored with?"

"Now, now. You know I wouldn't be able to come in here looking just like myself"

He pulled off his disguise to reveal his true self. His gold eyes burned with power.

She threw her kunai at him and watched as he dodged them with ease and were pooled around him.

"You should know by know that petty weapons like that won't defeat me"

"I know" she said. "But this might"

She performed a handsign and set off the paper bombs that she secretly planted on the knives. Orochimaru got caught in the explosion and screamed in pain.

"Stop the acting Orochimaru. I know you're alright"

He stepped out of the smoke without a single scratch.

"I see you have improved the last time that I've seen you"

"You're flattery. You're just getting old and aren't as strong as you once were"

He gave out a creepy laugh.

"Are you so sure about that?"

"Orochimaru!"

Yuri burst into the clearing with her bow drawn. Everyone came in and had their weapons aimed at the Sanin.

"Ah, it's be far too long, Yuri. I see you've gotten more beautiful since the last time we've meet"

"Shut up, you stupid snake!"

Orochimaru eyed everyone.

"Well, well. It looks like you made some friends. I take it they're with you, little Mikomi?"

Everyone took one look at Orochimaru and knew that he was trouble. The reeked with such power that the hair on their necks stood. Bakuto could feel his blood boil as he looked into Orochimaru's snake like eyes.

Mikomi got into a fighting stance.

"You never answered my question. Why are you here?"

Orochimaru tossed his hair over his shoulder.

"Oh, just picking up some new toys to play with. By the way, I ran into your brother a few minutes ago"

Mikomi felt her blood grow cold.

"What did you do to him?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just gave him a slight beating and a parting gift. I have to say..." He grinned evilly. "He looks just like your father"

"Shut up!"

She charged at him and started fighting him with taijutsu. It proved to be pointless since she wasn't as good as Tifa and that her opponent was a Sanin, but she wasn't going to let him get away with hurting her brother.

She sent a kick to his head and got blocked by his hand. He grabbed her ankle and threw her into a tree. Yuri and Tifa got in the fight and dueled him. Vincent and Barret stood off on the side lines and fired their guns at him he his back was to him. The Sanin hissed in pain when he got shot.

"My, my. You have some very interesting friends, little Mikomi"

She ran at him sent a chakra filled punch to his jaw.

"Don't call me that!"

He went flying into a tree and caused it to indent.

"It looks like I won't be able to fight so well when you have so many people attacking me at once"

He bit his thumb and smeared it on his arm.

"It looks like I'm going to need a little help"

He slammed his hand on the ground.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

He summoned up a giant snake that was nearly as big as the trees. It barred it's fangs at the group below.

Yugito looked at her boyfriend as she saw Bakuto's eyes change from blue to gold.

"Bakuto?"

The dragon host shook as he eyed the snake.

"Snakes" he hissed. "I HATE SNAKES"

He let out a battle cry and charged at the reptile.

"Bakuto! No!"

It didn't help him as he jumped up the snakes back and charged at Orochimaru.

The Sanin grinned at him.

"Aww, is someone afraid of snakes?"

Bakuto just slugged him hard and made him fall of the snake. Orochimaru rocked his jaw to see if it was broken.

"You're a lot stronger than you look, boy"

Black and silver chakra covered Bakuto's body as he got closer. His mind was out of control as he had flashbacks to his mother.

"I'll never forgive you for what you've done to her" he growled.

Orochimaru got to his feet and dusted himself off.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about, boy"

Bakuto growled again.

"Because of your species, I lost the most important person in my life"

The Sanin didn't know what he was talking about until it clicked into his head.

"Ah, you hate snakes because they killed someone you love. And you think I'm a snake because I look like one. Aww, that is too cute"

Bakuto preformed a set of hand signs.

"You will pay for taking her from me"

"I'm afraid you have it all wrong, boy. I wasn't the one who killed your mother."

"It doesn't matter; you're still one of them!"

"Now you think I'm a snake? Now that's just being silly"

Bakuto went into action.

"Fire Style: Impure Dragon Flame Missile!"

Black flames spewed out of his mouth and took the shape of a dragon.

Orochimaru was suspired and though t that it was Amaterasu for a moment.

"What is this?"

"Fire Style: Pure Dragon Flame Missile!"

While flames followed after and took the shape of a dragon.

The two fire dragons floated. Bakuto made another hand sign.

"Fire Style: Chaos Dragon Flame Missile!"

The two dragons roared and charged at Orochimaru. Black and while flames covered his body and burned him to bits.

Orochimaru screamed in pain as the flames licked his body. He had enough strength to jump out of the flames with only a few severe burns.

"You" he hissed at Bakuto.

He ran at the Sanin and pulled out his Katana's

"Die!"

Orochimaru flashed stepped and did karate chop to his neck. He went down like a sack of potatoes and couldn't get up. Orochimaru picked up his swords and stabbed them into his hand. He yelled out in pain as the blades pierced his flesh.

Orochimaru got close to his face.

"That was a pretty impressive trick you had there" he hissed into his ear.

"Since you gave me such a show, I'll let you live. But if I ever run into you again, you'll wish that I didn't"

He got up and walked away from him.

"Get back here! I'm not finished with you!"

"Learn to become stronger and then I'll fight you. That Jutsu you used was powerful, but not powerful enough. If you want to kill me with that, then learn how to use it better"

He walked away and left Bakuto to scream in frustration.

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Orochimaru's snake proved to be a challenge for our heroes. Since they were in such a tight area, it was hard to dodge and move around without getting hit by its tail.

"How are we suppose to beat this thing!" Yuffie shouted as she threw her giant shuriken at the beast. Vincent transformed into Chaos and fired off Death Penalty as he flew. Barret got banged up and had blood running down the side of his head.

"These summons are as bad as the ones at home!"

"Yeah, well at least they aren't genetically enlarged animals" Yuri said as she fired her bow.

Cloud ran down its spine and dragged his Buster Sword into its flesh.

They weren't really doing much damage to the snake, but it was better than nothing.

Orochimaru got on its head and laughed at their struggles.

"It's hopeless fighting like that. Only ninjustu can't beat it"

Mikomi jumped off the snake and landed next to Yuri.

"Hey, Yuri. Can I use _that_ Jutsu?"

"If you mean that one, then by all means"

Mikomi grinned.

"It's show time!"

She held out her hand and sent her chakra to her palm. The charka swirled in her hand like a mini tsunami. It went faster and faster and she gathered more chakra.

"_Ok, dad. Let's show this snake your signature Justu"_

She ran at the snake and rammed the little ball right into its stomach.

"RASENGAN!"

The snake crashed through the trees and left a mark where it was at.

Mikomi pumped her fist at her work.

Yuffie cheered at her friend.

"Way to go, "Komi-chan!"

She did a little victory dance for her friends.

"Thank you, Thank you"

The ground around her shook and out came the snake's tail.

"What the?!"

The snake swatted her body away and she crashed into a tree. Blood spilled out of her mouth on impact. She slid to the ground and felt her head throb.

"Mikomi!"

The snake slithered back to the group with Orochimaru on top.

"That girl was always annoying"

Yuri aimed her bow at her old teammate.

"You're going to pay for hurting my godchildren"

Orochimaru just brushed his hair out of his face.

"If you could consider those Jinchuriki brats to be children"

"Don't you dare call Mikomi that!" Tifa shouted.

"She's more than just a host you know. She's a dear friend to us and we won't let anyone treat her like that"

"Oh really? You mean to tell me you would want to be friends with that?" he said as he pointed to Mikomi.

She staggered over to her friends.

"'Komi-chan! You're ok!" Yuffie cried.

The grin fell from her face when she looked into red eyes instead of green.

Usagi's chakra could be felt as Mikomi' body started to change. Her red eyes went cat like and her hands started to grow claws. A set of fangs poked out of her mouth as she walked by her friends.

She held her head when Usagi's powered became too much for her. She fell her knees and held her head.

"Mikomi!" Tifa cried.

"Stay back!" She said in a demonic voice.

She looked at her friend with a pleading look in her eyes.

"I don't want to hurt you"

Tifa gulped down her nerves but nodded.

Mikomi struggled to her feet and faced Orochimaru.

"Well what do you know. The Konoha guardian really does live inside of you"

Mikomi growled at him.

"Shut up"

The Sanin wouldn't let it go and kept goading her.

"Tell me, how does it feel to have everyone in the village hate you?"

"Shut up"

"It must be hard having everyone treat you like garbage and wishing you were dead"

"Shut up"

"I bet your parents are so proud of you right now. Their little girl is all grown up as a full fledge monster , that's what any parent would want"

"SHUT UP!"

She jumped at him and got him in the face with her claws. Blood splattered her face as she kept getting him. She didn't care if she looked like a monster at this point, all she cared is that she wanted to kill"

Yuri pulled her back and made her stop. Blood dripped from her hands from the mess that she made.

Orochimaru choke on his blood as he sat up. His face was unrecognizable from all of the cuts he got from Mikomi .

"It's like I said" he rasped. "You're nothing but a monster. You'll never belong with anyone"

Tears pooled in Mikomi's eyes as she looked at her hands. The scent of blood filled her nostrils and the red liquid that painted her hands were warm. She thought that she was looking at someone else's hands, but she realized they were hers.

She fell to her knees and shook.

"I'm not a monster" she said.

"Don't deny your existence" Orochimaru said. "You harbor a deadly monster inside of you and you can't even control it. Your whole purpose in life is to kill"

Mikomi covered her ears.

"Stop it"

"Your father made you into the most feared being of Konoha. If he really loved you, he wouldn't have made your life a living hell for the past 13 years"

Tears ran down her face as she shook her head.

"Just shut up"

Yuri held her and rocked her a bit.

"Don't listen to him, Mikomi. You're not a monster. You're a sweet caring person who would do anything for her family. You are anything but a monster"

"Don't sugar coat reality for her Yuri" Orochimaru said. "this world has no use for beings like her"

Yuri gave her former teammate an icy glare.

"The only being that has no use to this world is you. It's people like you that create hatred. You can only accept perfect any won't have anything to do with imperfect"

Cloud came up to them and squatted down next to Mikomi. She cried into Yuri's chest as she held her ears still.

He looked at Orochimaru.

"You know…I really hate people who think they're superior than others" he said as he remembered Sephiroth.

He turned back to Mikomi.

"Hey"

She looked at him and shrank back in fear.

Cloud took his sleeve and wiped the blood from her face.

"You are one slob, you know that?"

He wiped the tears from her eyes in the process.

"You need to be neater when you're fighting"

He went to clean her hands when she pulled away. She curled her fingers so he wouldn't see her claws. He simply rolled his eyes and gently pulled them out.

"You don't have to be scared, Mikomi. Don't listen to what that snake says. He doesn't know you like we do. You're not a monster, stop thinking like that. I've seen my fair share of monsters, and you don't fit the description"

He gave her a small smile.

"Now stop crying and give he a smile. You look better with a smile"

A grin found its way on Mikomi's face.

"Thank you, Cloud" she said quietly.

He pulled her into a hug.

"you're a good person, so don't think otherwise"

He riffled her hair in a brotherly way and stood up with her.

Yuri smiled as she watched Cloud taking care of her goddaughter. He really did act like an older brother to her.

"Aw, how touching" Orochimaru said.

They all looked to see that the snake was standing. Blood ran down his face from the cuts that covered his face.

"As much as I hate to interrupt tender moments like this. I'm afraid I have to ruin this"

His snake like tongue shot out and wrapped itself around Mikomi and pulled her back to him.

"It's time that I repaid you for ruining my face" he hissed.

He held her up to his face.

"Orochimaru, let her go!" Yuri cried.

He didn't listen to her and held out his hand.

"I'm going to be generous and help you with your little demon problem"

Chakra covered his fingers.

"If you don't want to be a monster, then I will gladly make it come true"

"Leave her alone!"

Mikomi thrashed out at him.

"Let me go you stupid snake!"

"In a second"

He slammed his hand into her stomach where the seal was at.

"Five Pronged Seal!"

Mikomi screamed in pain as the seal burned into her body. She could feel Usagi thrashing in pain as the seal covered her fathers.

Orochimaru laughed at her pain.

The pain was too much for her and caused her to black out.

Orochimaru flung her at Yuri.

"Useless girl"

Cloud slid and caught her before she could hit the ground.

Yuri ran up to her goddaughter and checked to see if she was alright.

"what did you do to her?"

"Nothing much, just gave her a parting gift"

He made a handsign.

"I look forward to when we will see each other again"

He disappeared along with his snake.

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Everyone was in a state of confusion. Bakuto slammed his fist into the ground.

"How could l let him get away!?"

Yugito grabbed his fist and made him stop.

Yuri held Mikomi's unconscious body. She didn't know what Orochimaru did to her, but it couldn't be good.

"Is Mikomi going to be alright?" Tifa asked.

"She should be"

"What are we going to do now?"

"We'll head for the central tower that's located in the center of the forest. We'll contact Sarutobi there and tell him what's happened"

She placed Mikomi on her back and started walking.

"Let's move. It's almost night time and I don't want to be out when the night creatures come"

They all followed Yuri and took turns carrying Mikomi. Their first run in with Orochimaru turned out to be bad. No one got killed, but they almost did with their lack of knowing any jutus. If they got out of this village alive, then they were going to ask Mikomi how to fight like she did. But for now, they were more concerned about her well being than their own.

Everyone learned something that day. There were people out there who were a lot stronger than Sephiroth, and that scared the hell out of them.

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**A.N: And there you go, a really long chapter. Sorry if the fighting scenes sucked. I suck when it comes to writing action scenes, so you'll have to deal with it if you plan on reading further chapters. **

**Since I wrote such a long chapter, I hope to get long reviews. (not really but it would put a smile on my face, and I'll give you a cookie!)**

**Remember, sends me those reviews. I live off of them!**


	26. The rest of Rookie nine

Chapter 26: The Rest of Rookie Nine

**A/N: Hello my darling fans! Here is another glorious chapter to our favorite story. Why don't we see how the Rookie nine are doing in the exam? Sit back, relax, and enjoy the chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat, and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"**Taimat Talking"**

"_Aerith talking__**"**_

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Everyone camped out under a giant tree. Night had fallen and meant that danger was among them. The sound of the nocturnal animals awaking and roaming through the forest kept everyone on edge.

Yugito tended to Mikomi while she was still out. That seal that Orochimaru had bad effect on her. Cat Sith helped her out and placed a wet rag on her forehead. Everyone took turns to watch over Mikomi. So far, she was out like a light. It was weird to see the active Jinchuriki out like this. They wished that she would wake up soon and ease their worries.

Yuri came back from scouting the area. She placed seals around the area that they were at so no one could come by.

"How is she?" She asked as she checked on her goddaughter.

"Still the same. I don't think she'll be up by tomorrow"

Yuri sighed.

"If I ever see that vile snake again, I'll turn him into a wallet"

She sat by the fire that Barret made with a glum expression. Everyone seemed to be in low spirits. Yuffie messed around with the Materia she had in her hand. It was like a stress ball to her when things were wrong.

"That snake made us look like total idiots"

Bakuto had to agree with her. He felt like a fool to lose to someone like Orochimaru.

"Did you see the way he fought?" Cid said. "He made Sephiroth look like a rookie compared to him"

Cloud flinched at the mention of his enemy.

"We're lucky to be alive right now"

"Orochimaru wasn't taking you seriously" Yuri said. "If he did, you would be dead the moment he saw you. You're lucky that you don't know how to fight like we do"

"No we're not, Yuri" Tifa said.

"That fact that we don't know how to fight like you means that we're hopeless when it comes to danger. We can't just let you and Mikomi do all of the fighting while we're here. We need to know how to defend ourselves as well in case something like this happens again"

Yuffie added her opinion.

"Yeah, I wanna fight like 'Komi-chan and show that snake man up. I'm a ninja too. I can't afford to be puny"

One by one, AVALANCE added their opinion to learn ninjutus.

"We can't let Mikomi do all of the fighting"

"A man can't afford to be weak"

"It'll help against Sephiroth"

"It's not wise to have us here and know nothing about your fighting style"

Yuri sweat dropped as they closed in on her. They weren't backing up on this with the way they were talking.

She waved her hands in front of her.

"Guys, guys, think about this. You're considered as guests while you're in Konoha. There's no need for you to learn ninjustu while you plan on staying here. You don't expect to fight or do missions, do you?"

"Are you saying you would rather have Mikomi do all of the dirty work while we relax and do nothing?" Cloud asked.

Yuri sweat dropped at that.

"Well, no. I'll get my hands dirty too, but I don't think Mikomi will like hearing that her friends decided to learn ninjustu while she was out. She'll definitely say no to this when she wakes up, trust me"

"Don't worry about what Mikomi will say" Cid said. "We'll just say that she owes us for teaching her how to use materia and how to fight the way that we do"

"You mean black mailing her?" Bakuto said.

"If that's what you want to call, sure"

Yuri looked at Mikomi for a moment.

"I have a bad feeling about this"

"Don't worry. She'll see it our way. She can never say no to us anyway"

"That's what I'm afraid of" Yuri muttered to herself.

Yugito simply shook her head as she went back to tending her friend.

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Everything was white in Mikomi's mind. All she could see was a vast about of emptiness. She didn't know where she was or how she got here. All she knew was that this place was blank and depressing.

"Geez, you think someone would make this place more lively"

Just as she said that, flowers bloomed everywhere and covered the ground with vibrant colors.

"Well…this makes it a little better…somehow"

She walked in no particular direction and started looking at her surroundings.

As she looked closer at the flowers, she felt a sense of déjà vu.

"It feels like I've been here before. But why would I hang around a field of flowers"

Laughter filled the air.

"Who's there?"

"_I'm glad to see you again, Mikomi?"_

A woman suddenly appeared in front of her. Her back faced her.

"Who are you? How do you know my name?"

The woman laughed again.

"_I've known about you for a long time" _She said. _"I've been watching you from the very beginning"_

"What, you mean like stalking me?"

"_No, no. Nothing like that"_

She turned slightly so she could see her face. Her long braid swayed as she moved her head.

Mikomi was at a loss for words as she looked at this woman. It was like looking into a mirror or something. She had the same brown hair and green eyes as she did. The only difference was that her face was more femine and held an air of wisdom around her.

She held a shaky finger up and pointed it at her.

"W-who are you? And why do you look like me?"

The woman just laughed at her.

"_Let's just say that I'm a close friend of Cloud. As to why I look like you…I'm afraid even I don't know that"_

Mikomi lowered her hand back to her side.

"You know Cloud?"

"_Yes, or I knew Cloud while I was alive"_

"You're dead? Wait, does that mean I'm dead?"

"_You're not dead; I'm just a spirit who tends to visit her friends in their subconscious"_

"But I never knew anyone who wore pink and looked like me. How am I friends with you?"

"_We're not friends yet, but I would like to be friends. I just wanted to meet the person who managed to make Cloud happy. I thank you dearly for that"_

"Um, you're welcome… I guess."

She kicked her feet a bit.

"So…if you know my name, how come I don't know yours?"

She received another set of giggles.

"_I was hoping you would figure that out on your own. I'm sure AVALANCE has told you about me"_

Mikomi racked through her brains to see when her friends told her about a girl in pink.

"_Come on. Think, think. When have they told me about some chick wearing pink? The only people they have ever told me about were Zack and –"_

It suddenly dawned on her who this woman was.

"Are you Aer-"

Suddenly the scene vanished before her eyes.

"Wait, don't go!"

"_Don't worry; we'll see each other again soon"_

She was thrown back into the world of consciousness and heard voices.

"Hey, I think she's waking up"

"It's about time; I'm tired of carrying her sorry ass"

"Bakuto! Don't talk about her like that"

"She is going to have one major head ache when she wakes up"

"I hope she likes out idea"

"Shhh!"

Her eyes felt like lead as she opened them up. The faces of her friends were the first thing that she was as everything became clear to her.

"Mikomi! You're awake!"

Yuffie pounced on her and gave her a giant bear hug.

"We were so worried about you! I hope that mean snake guy didn't hurt you too bad I promise to beat him up if we see him again"

Vincent pulled her off so Mikomi could sit up. She groaned as she held her head.

"My head"

Yuri got into medic mode and tried to cure all of the aches and pains that she felt"

"How are you feeling, honey?"

"I feel like I was hit by an over sized snake, who do you think I feel?"

"Sorry, I'm just worried that that seal Orochimaru put on you did something"

She looked at her stomach where the seal was usually at. It wasn't visible at the moment but she had a feeling that was messed up somehow.

"_Hey, Usagi, can you hear me?"_

She got no response.

"_Usagi?"_

No reply was made by her furry companion.

"_Orochimaru must have done something to the seal. I can't hear Usagi at all or feel her chakra"_

Yuri flicked her in the forehead to grab her attention.

"Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"You were spacing out"

"Well duh, I was trying to figure out what happened to me"

"Orochimaru placed some sort of seal on you and you've been out for 4 hours"

"Gee, even I can figure that out. I mean where are we? How long have we been in this forest?"

"It's already night time and we're almost near the central tower. We'll leave when it's morning and when it's less dangerous"

Mikomi rested her head against a tree.

"Great. I've been out for 4 hours while you lead my friends through a scary forest. How lucky can I get?"

"Relax, Mikomi" Tifa said. "Yuri made sure that we were safe while you were out"

"When you mean safe, do you mean leading you though spider infested forests and nearly getting killed by an S-ranked criminal?"

"Hey!" Yuri protested.

Bakuto rolled over from the spot he was laying at so he wouldn't face anyone.

"Save it for tomorrow stupid fox. We're all tired and we have a long day ahead of us so shut up"

Mikomi glared at him but didn't say anything.

Yuri yawned.

"He's right. I'm tired as hell. I'll take my nap now and keep a look out later"

She fell fast asleep.

Mikomi sweat dropped at her godmother and sighed.

"I'll keep watch since you were all up trying to take care of me"

"Are you sure Mikomi? We can stay up and let you rest a bit"

"Don't worry, Tifa. I've had enough sleep. Just go to sleep and save your strength for tomorrow. You never know what we'll run into with Yuri leading us"

The martial artist nodded and went to sleep. One by one, they all lost conscious and drifted to slumber land. Cloud pretended to sleep just in case Mikomi feel asleep.

Mikomi was lost in thought as she stayed up. Her mind went back to that woman she saw while she was out.

"_Was that…was that Aerith?"_

She pushed it to the back of her mind and went back on watch. She would think about it later when she was out of a deadly forest.

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The forest was just as thick here as it was near the front gates. The trees looked like they wouldn't clear up any time soon, which meant that they were nowhere near the tower. Walking as a large group really wasn't helping at all either. They would have stop every now and then because someone would get tired or would get caught in a trap and needed to be saved. With the way they were going, it would be a week before they reached the tower.

Mikomi sighed as Yuffie was once again freed from a trap.

"We're not making much progress" She said.

Bakuto gave her a look.

"Really? I couldn't tell"

She just gave him a tired look.

"How far are we to the tower?" She asked Yuri.

The medic pulled out her map and checked their location.

"According to this, the tower should be right up ahead"

"That's what you said 2 hours ago" Bakuto said.

"Really? Then why haven't we seen the tower?"

"Maybe we're going in circles or something?" Yugito suggested.

Mikomi took the map from her godmother and looked at it.

"Yuri" she said "this map is from twenty years ago. The reason we haven't seen the tower yet is because we're looking at an inaccurate map and there has be stuff added since the last time you stepped into this forest"

She handed her the map.

"Oh, I see. No wonder we ran into things that aren't marked on here. That explains why I didn't see the flesh eating slugs on the map"

Cid was currently trying to pick the slugs that were stuck to his skin.

"Oh that really helps out. I almost got eaten because we're looking at an old map. That makes me feel so much better"

Yuri laughed nervously.

"Sorry guys, I thought the forest would be the same as it was twenty years ago"

"Things change over time Yuri, you should know that"

Mikomi went up to a tree and started to climb.

"What are you doing, Mikomi?"

"I'm going to see how far we are from the tower. I should be able to see it through the trees tops"

She tried using her chakra to climb, but couldn't do it well with the seal on her. She would climb up a tiny bit, and then slide back down. She kept doing it until it got into Bakuto's nerves.

"Here, let me help you"

He grabbed her and threw her up into the branches. He could hear her screaming as she went up.

"That ought to help her" he said to himself.

Yugito shook her head as she looked at her boyfriend.

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Mikomi clawed at the branch that she was trying to hold on to. Bakuto managed to get her to the top, but now she had the task of trying to stay on the top without falling. It was difficult to do without chakra, so she had to do it the old fashion way.

When she finally managed to get her footing, she scanned the area until she saw the tower. It wasn't really that far, but it would take them a while if Yuffie ran into another trap.

"If we want to get there soon, we'll have to split up"

She carefully started to climb down, but lost her footing and plunged to the ground. Leaves and twigs hit her as she flew down. She tried to grab any branch that she could get her hands on. She managed to grab a stray vine, but it slipped through her fingers and somehow wrapped itself around her ankle.

"_Oh, perfect"_

The vine acted like a bungee cord as she hit the ground. She banged her head on the ground and hit a couple trees as the vine bounced a bit.

Bakuto laughed as he saw her dangling like that.

Mikomi just gave him the finger and tried to pull the vine off her ankle.

She gave up after a minute and just hung upside down for her friends.

"Are you ok, Mikomi?" Yugito asked.

"I'm just peachy" she replied as she swung around.

Yuri took out a kunai and cut the vine. This resulted in Mikomi hitting her head again as she was free.

"Did you have to do that?" she asked as she rubbed her head.

Yuri shrugged.

"I couldn't just leave you hanging there"

She picked her up and dusted her off.

"Did you see the tower?"

"Yeah. We're not that far from it, but with the way we're going, it'll be night fall by the time we reach it. If we split up, we might be able to get there faster"

"Why would we split up now when we could have in the beginning?" Bakuto asked.

"Because I didn't think it would take us this long to get to the tower, we need to report to Sarutobi before Orochimaru does anything else"

"Ok. And how are we going to get to the tower when we don't even know what it looks like?"

"That's where Yuri and I come in. I'll lead one group while Yuri leads the other. It'll be faster this way if we split in two"

"Oh, that's genius. We follow you as you lead us to our death"

"Hey, I wasn't the one who lead us into the spider infested forest. I know where to go, so you can trust me"

"I don't trust you with my life. I'll get myself killed if I follow you"

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's forehead.

"Then go in Yuri's group. See if I care that you get killed because you didn't trust me"

"Fine, I will"

"Fine"

"Fine"

Bakuto went over by Yuri with Yugito following him.

"Sorry, Mikomi. I don't want to get separated from Bakuto"

"That's fine. He needs someone to look after him anyway"

Bakuto gave her the finger.

Cloud grabbed her when she went to attack him.

"Give it a rest. I want to get out of here as much as you do, so save it for later"

She just grumbled as she walked away to form her group.

"Whoever doesn't mind being with a Jinchuriki, step on over"

Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, Red Xlll and Cat Sith walked over.

Yuri looked at Cid, Barret, Yuffie, Bakuto and Yugito.

"I take it you're with me then?"

"It would seem so"

Yuri pumped her fists.

"Well have no fear! I'll make sure we have fun on this trip"

"I've had enough fun in this forest to last me a life time" Cid said as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

Yuri ran into the forest while she did a little victory cheer.

"This is not going to be good" Barret said.

Mikomi waved at them as they walked.

"We'll see you at the tower…hopefully" she said the last part to herself.

She looked at her group.

"Alright. Let's get the hell out of here and away from those evil spiders"

She used her sword to cut through the thick branches as they walked. Now is where things got interesting.

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**Yuri's group**

Bakuto held the bridge of his nose as Yuri continued to sing 'Sexy Back' as they walked.

"Why did I go with her?"

"Because you won't stop being mean to Mikomi and this is what you deserve" Yugito said.

"It's not my fault that the stupid fox annoys me to no end. I thought I would get a break if I went with Yuri, but it seems that I was wrong"

Cid put out his cigarette as he walked.

"None of us were thinking. I should have known that Yuri would be acting crazy. She makes Yuffie seem calm"

"Hey!" Yuffie retorted

"It's true and you know it"

The Wutai ninja just crossed her arms.

Yuri finished her song and looked at her group.

"Alright, judging from the gap of trees, I would say that we're almost to the tower"

"Are you sure? You could be leading us to another area that's filled with deadly animals" Bakuto said

Yugito elbowed him in the gut.

"Don't worry, I'm positive that we're going the right way this time" Yuri said with confidence.

"If I see another spider up ahead, I'll kill you" Cid said.

Yuri just laughed at his empty threat and pressed on.

"I have a bad feeling about what lies ahead" Barret said.

"Same here" Yuffie added

A girly scream was heard up ahead.

"Yuri!"

Everyone ran to help their friend, only to find her alright. I turned out that Yuri ran into Ino, Choji, and Shikamaru.

"Hey, it's Asuma's kids" Yuffie said.

Ino got into a fighting stance.

"Who are you and why do you look like Lady Yuri?" She said.

Yuri waved her hands in front of her.

"It's me, Ino. I'm not a ninja in disguise"

"Liar. You just want to steal our scroll"

Shikamaru placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax Ino, this is the real Yuri. I can tell"

He waved at the others when he spotted them.

"What are you guys doing here?"

"There was a slight problem here and we had to take care of it" Yuri said.

She didn't know if they knew Orochimaru was around, so she didn't want to give away too much information.

Cid walked over to Shikamaru and ruffled his hair a bit. He had taken a liking to the lazy genius since he was Asuma's favorite student.

"So how are the exams for you?"

Shikamaru shrugged.

"It has its ups and downs. We ran into a little trouble with a couple sound ninja earlier, but we're ok"

This caught Yuri's attention.

"Sound ninja? When?"

"A little while ago. They were after Naruto's team earlier so we tried to help them. Sasuke took care of them, but he acted a little strange"

"Strange? How?"

"Well, his chakra went all weird and he had these strange markings covering his face. It creped me out, but he's fine now"

Yuri had a feeling that this tide with Orochimaru.

"Do you know where Naruto's team is now?"

"Nope. We left them 15 minutes ago. They could be anywhere by now"

"I see. Well, good luck with your exams and stay out of trouble"

"Easier said than done. We almost got killed here because of Choji" Ino said.

Choji got all defensive.

"Hey! It was not my fault that we stepped into that quicksand! That was your fault!"

"Not blame it on me, fatty. We could have been done with this exam if you weren't stuffing your face the whole time we were here"

"Fat!? I'll have you know that I'm just Chubby. And besides, cubby's rule!"

The two started arguing with each other.

Shikamaru sighed.

"Not again"

Cid handed him a Haste materia.

"This ought to help you get to the tower faster. I'm sure you know how to use materia since you've seen me use it against Asuma"

"Yeah. You said it was like a giant ball of chakra. Thanks for the help"

"Just don't tell anyone that you got outside help with the exams. I'd hate to see you fail because your teammates couldn't get their butts in gear"

"I'll be sure to use this well"

"Good. You take care now"

Shikamaru waved at him as he pulled his teammates along.

"He's a good kid" Cid said.

"He sure is" Yuri agreed. "Now let's move it before it gets dark out. I want to find out what happened to Sasuke before we leave"

She went off with a slight skip in her step.

"We're going to die" Bakuto said.

"Bakuto. Stop being so negative" Yugito argued.

"What? We're following a 40 year old who has the mind of a 5 year old. If we get out of this forest, it'll be a miracle"

Yugito just sighed at her boyfriend.

"I wish we went with Mikomi. At least she would be thinking positive"

"If you call her childish mind to be positive"

"**Stop being so mean to Mikomi" **Taimat chided. **"She doesn't deserve the cold shoulder"**

"_Yeah she does. All she ever does is annoy the living crap out of me. She thrives off of it, I just know it"_

"**You're being silly. Mikomi is just showing that even Jinchuriki can have fun. If you would just lighten up a bit, then I'm sure you would have so much fun with yourself. I bet Yugito would like to see that too"**

Bakuto groaned at the mention of Yugito. Leave it to Taimat to pick at his one weakness. He glanced at his girlfriend for a moment. He had to admit, she seemed a lot happier since she meet Mikomi. Maybe it had to do with the fact that she knew another female Jinchuriki and wasn't alone anymore.

"_She does look a lot happier when she's around that stupid fox"_

"**Well, duh. It's because Mikomi's fun and you're no fun at all"**

"_I am too fun!"_

"**You're too serious. Try to lighten up a little, will ya? We're not in the Cloud village anymore and we don't have to worry about people giving us the cold shoulder. Konoha is a pretty nice village. They have nice food, nice hot springs, and even nice looking girls"**

"_You're a pervert"_

"**Hey! I'm a legendary dragon trapped inside a moody teen. I need a hobby!"**

He just rolled his eyes as his dragon whined.

"**Can you please lighten up to Mikomi? She is the first friend that you made since you meet Yugito"**

"_She's not my friend. She's my rival. You can't be friends with your rival"_

"**Sure you can. Just look at Naruto and Sasuke. They're rivals, but they're still friends…sort of"**

"'_sigh' if I agree to be civil with that annoying fox, will you stop lecturing me?"_

"**Yep. I want you to have friends, Bakuto. You've been without one for too long"**

"_I'm fine with it that way"_

"**No you're not, you liar"**

Bakuto frowned as Taimat saw right through him.

Yugito glanced at her boyfriend.

"Is something wrong, Bakuto?"

He shook his head.

"No. I'm just trying to think of a way to make Yuri stop her god awful singing"

Yugito giggled.

"I'm sure Mikomi may know a few things. She's put up with her longer than we have"

"That is true. I guess she can be useful for once"

Yugito playfully smacked him.

"Don't be mean to her. She just wants to be your friend, just give her a chance"

She gave him the puppy dog look that he couldn't resist.

"Very well, since you asked me"

She hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Bakuto. This means a lot to me"

"Yeah, yeah"

"Oi!" Yuri hollered. "Hurry up or you'll miss the best part of the song I'm singing"

She started to do a rap song as she danced.

"I'm going to have a serious headache when we get out of here" Cid said.

"If we get out of here" Barret corrected.

Yuffie shrugged.

"Well…at least Yuri is making this trip entertaining"

Everyone just gave her a look and kept on walking.

"I wonder if that fox got lost yet" Bakuto said to himself

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**Mikomi's group**

"ACHOO!!!"

Mikomi sniffled from the sudden sneeze that came over her.

"Are you coming down with something, Mikomi?" Tifa asked.

"No. Someone is probably talking about me. I bet it's that damn dragon"

She Kougiken to cut down the trees that were in her way. Every now and then, she would kick one down.

She had a slight chip on her shoulder from the events from earlier. She was still upset with Orochimaru calling her a monster. Sure, she was use to it, but it still hurt.

"Are you ok, Mikomi?" Tifa asked.

She gave her friend a fake smile. She didn't want Tifa to worry about her, she worried about her enough.

"I'm fine Tifa. I just want to get out of this forest"

"Oh, you don't want to run into anymore spiders, do you?"

"You could say that"

Red Xlll could see through her lie right away. He wasn't the smartest in the group for nothing.

"You're still upset about what Orochimaru said about you?"

Mikomi stopped in her tracks. Her bangs covered her eyes.

"What makes you think I'm upset?"

"You're radiating a depressing aura off of you"

She sighed deeply.

"Sure, I'm upset. But so what? I'm use to it. That's the first thing that comes to everyone's mind when they see me. They don't see me as Mikomi, they see me as the demon that nearly destroyed the village and killed my dad"

She walked away without saying anything else and continued chopping down trees.

Tifa looked at her friend sadly as she walked away.

"Mikomi" she said sadly.

Vincent walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Mikomi"

"I know what you're going to say, but it's not alright"

She looked at her vampire like friend in the eye.

"I've had to deal with this for 13 years. You would think that the village would get over with the fact that I'm a Jinchuriki, but no, they take one look at me and they run for cover. I never did anything to them, so why do they have to treat me like this? What did I ever do to them?"

Tears filled her eyes.

"What did I do that made everyone hate me so much? I do what Sarutobi says. I fulfill every mission I'm given. And what do I get for all my hard work, nothing. Not a 'thank you for all that you've done' not a 'nice job', just the cold shoulder and public humiliation"

The tears fell from her eyes. She rubbed her eyes quickly. She hated it when she cried. It made her look weak. It was a disgrace for a ninja to cry openly.

Vincent took his cape and wiped her tears away.

"I know how you feel, Mikomi" he said with that deep voice.

"I understand your pain so well that I can feel it myself. I know how unfair it is to be treated so badly when you haven't done anything wrong. It's like fate is messing with your life for its own entertainment. No one knows what it's like to have a demon living inside of you on a daily basis. They don't understand the sacrifice we go through for them."

He ruffled her hair with his clawed hand.

"People just don't know what a true hero is anymore. Your father was a hero for sacrificing his life for you and the village, and you're a hero for harboring the demon that destroyed it. You have to be one of the bravest people I have ever met, and I'm honored to call you my friend"

Tifa came up to her and gave her a hug.

"We love you just the way you are, Mikomi. Don't ever change that."

Cloud just gave her a nod to show that he agreed. He wasn't good at these mushy moments.

Cat Sith jumped into her arms.

"Don't be ashamed about yourself. We're as different as you are, so you're not alone"

"It's like what Yuri said" Red Xlll said "people like us need to stick together"

Mikomi wiped the tears from her eyes.

"How did I get so lucky to have friends like you?"

Tifa shrugged.

"Who knows? Maybe we were all meant to meet each other"

Mikomi smiled at that.

"_I hope that's true"_

Red Xlll suddenly sniffed the air.

"I smell blood"

Everyone looked at him.

"Where is it coming from?"

"Up ahead. I can't tell whose it is, but at least it isn't Naruto's"

Mikomi walked ahead.

"I'm going to check it out"

Cat Sith waved his arms as she still carried him.

"Wait, Mikomi. You can't just go and check out some spot because there's blood. It could be a trap"

"I know, but since we've dealt with the worse already, then it can't be too bad. There's nothing as bad as Orochimaru"

"But you're still hurt! You should be avoiding danger, not going towards it!"

"I'll be fine. I can handle anything that comes in my way"

She looked over her shoulder to face Red.

"Come on Red. I need your nose to follow the scent"

Red sighed tiredly.

"She's going to get herself killed one of these days"

"Just lead the way, Red. We'll make sure nothing happens to her" Vincent said.

"Very well then"

He went to the front and started sniffing the scent of blood.

Cat Sith clung to Mikomi.

"I don't like this at all"

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Red sniffed the air for a while until he came to a sudden stop.

"This is as far as the smell goes"

Mikomi looked around the area.

"There's probably a body around here or something"

Sure enough, she found three bodies in a bloody mess.

"Geez, somebody went all out on these guys"

Vincent nudged one with his foot.

"I take it that this was done by no ordinary ninja"

"It could be, but then again, people tend to lose it when they enter this forest, so someone could have snapped and went on a killing spree"

A couple bushes rustled behind Mikomi.

Vincent pulled out his gun and pushed Mikomi behind him.

The bushes rustled some more before a dog came out and ran to them. It yelped a couple of times before jumping into Mikomi's arms. Upon closer inspection, the dog turned out to be none other than Akamaru.

"Akamaru? What are you doing here? Where's Kiba?"

The poor dog just shook as Mikomi held him.

Kiba came out a few seconds later.

"Akamaru, why did you run off like that?"

He saw Mikomi holding him and realized why.

"Mikomi-sensei? Is that you?"

"Yep, the one and only. Who else would Akamaru run to?"

Kiba sighed with relief to see a familiar face. He looked back at the area where his teammates were hiding.

"Shino, Hinata. It's ok"

Seconds later, the two teammates came into view.

Hinata fiddled with her fingers as she spotted Naruto's older sister.

"H-hello Mikomi-Sensei. What are you doing here in the exam?"

Mikomi gave her a soft smile. She knew Hinata well since she was Myou's younger cousin. She was also the only girl in the village who had a huge crush on Naruto.

"Hi, Hinata. If you must know, there was a slight situation that was going on in the exams that needed to be fixed"

"What kind of problem was it, if I may ask?" Shino said.

"Well, let's just say that someone was not suppose to be in the exam and they needed to be found"

"Was it that Sand ninja?" Kiba asked. "Because if it was, we just saw him. He killed those ninja over there like it was child's play"

Mikomi frowned at that.

"Did he have a giant gourd on his back by some chance?"

"Yeah, and he was controlling sand without using any hand signs. It was like it had a will of its own"

She didn't like where this was going. She had a feeling that this Garra character was going to be bad news. This just proved her right.

Akamaru jumped from her arms and went over to Re Xlll. He sniffed at the red beast with slight interest. Cat Sith freaked out and hid behind Red's hair.

"AH! He's going to eat us!"

Red just ignored him and looked at Akamaru.

"Hello little one"

Akamaru barked at him in response and waged his tail. He ran around him to show that he wanted to play. Red complied and nudged him with his nose and caused him to roll around. Akamaru yelped happily as he played with his new friend.

Kiba was awe struck as he watched his dog play with the strange beast.

"Whoa, what kind of animal is that?"

Mikomi decided to the introductions.

"Kiba, this is Nanaki, or Red Xlll. He's one of the friends I made while I was away. Red, this is Kiba Inuzuka. He's that guy I was telling you about who takes care of the ninja dog"

Red held up a paw.

"Pleasure to meet you"

Kiba shook his paw awkwardly. He wasn't use to greeting a dog this way.

"So…you're from a different world or something?"

Naruto had told the rookie nine about his sister's travels and how she ended up on a different world.

"That is correct. I am not form Konoha at all, nor have I been here before"

Kiba scratched his head.

"So…do animals from your world talk? I've never seen a dog talk before like you. Usually they have to be trained to know how to speak"

"Nope. I am a highly intelligent animal and I have been able to talk from the very beginning"

"Cool"

He crouched down as if he was talking with a friend.

"So, do you know how to fight or something? Most animals know how to fight here and you look like you've seen your fair share of battles"

"Yes, I have. I'm capable of fighting, but I don't know the ways of your fighting skills. From what Mikomi has told me, dogs are capable of performing jutsus"

"What? You don't know how you perform any jutsu?"

He rounded off on Mikomi.

"What the heck are you teaching this guy Mikomi-sensei? Everyone should know who to perform ninjustsu once they step foot in Konoha"

"Yeah, they should" Cloud added.

A tick mark appeared on her forehead. She had a feeling they were trying to tell her something.

Kiba ignored her and went back to Red Xlll.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you how to fight once these exams are over. You'll be ninja dog in no time"

Red grinned at that.

"I would very much like that"

"Alright then. It's settled"

He got up and walked to his teammates.

"Let's go you guys. I've had it up to here with this forest"

He jumped off into the trees.

"Take care, Mikomi-sensei" Shino said as he left.

Hinata stayed behind a little longer.

"U-um, M-Mikomi-sensei" She stuttered.

"Yes Hinata?"

Hinata gulped a bit.

"I-if you s-see Naruto…C-could you tell him I said good luck?"

She gave the girl a gentle smile.

"I sure will. Thank you for caring about him so much"

Hinata blushed deeply.

"I-I better go. Say hi to Myou if you see her"

She jumped off into the trees to catch up with her teammates.

Mikomi waved to her then rounded on her friends.

"So…you want to know how to perform Ninjutsu?"

Tifa laughed nervously.

"Well…we thought it would be a good idea to know how to fight properly in this world since we're staying here. And it would seem unfair if we made you and Yuri do all of the fighting"

"I'm use to fighting a lot. Why would I want to have my friends do deadly training and perform jutsus that could possibly kill you?"

"Oh, come on Mikomi. At least teach us a thing or about your fighting skills. I don't to see you get hurt again because I was unable to help you at all"

She grabbed her hands and pleaded to her.

"Please?"

She looked at the martial artist, then at the guys. They wore the same expression, minus the pleading look.

She sighed.

"I'll think about it. But for now, let's just get out of here"

Tifa nodded and let go of her hands.

"Follow me if you want to live"

Mikomi picked up her sword and pointed it to their future destination.

"The tower should be just up ahead"

She walked away while twirling her sword through her fingers.

"She's going to cut herself like that" Cloud said to himself.

Sure enough, Mikomi sliced her hand open as they walked through more trees.

"Told ya"

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In a matter of minutes, they arrived at the central tower.

"That wasn't so bad, but where's Yuri?"

Bakuto and Cid came running out of a clearing.

"Ah, she won't stop!" Bakuto yelled as he covered his ears.

"Yuri won't stop singing that stupid song! My ears are gonna bleed!"

Yuri came out while she was doing the Michael Jackson moonwalk and singing to _Thriller._

Mikomi sweat dropped at her godmother.

"Yuri, could you keep it down? We're in the middle of a forest where there are enemy ninjas all over the place"

Yuri froze in the pose she was in as she realized this.

"Opps"

She just sighed at her godmother and opened the door that lead to the camera room in the tower.

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Scanning the monitors, she quickly found the video she was looking for. Camera 12 had caught Orochimaru killing the grass ninja's and using one of their faces as a disguise.

"_Sick bastard"_

Yuri peered over her shoulder.

"Did you find it?"

"Yep. He got in using the grass ninja's face as a disguise. It's no wonder he was able to get in so easily"

"Gross"

She went to turn the monitors off when she caught Naruto in camera 5. Rewinding the film, she saw him fighting Orochimaru and losing control.

"_Naruto"_

She turned the monitors off and looked at her friends.

"I had the footage we need to show to Sarutobi. We can get back into the village using the secret tunnel that it built here in the tower"

She went down the steps, not waiting if her friends were following her or not.

Yuri cracked her back.

"Well, this was an exciting trip"

Everyone groaned in protest.

"Your idea of fun is suicide to me" Bakuto said as he went downstairs.

Everyone complained as they followed Mikomi to the basement.

Her expression was grim as she opened the gate.

"_This whole ordeal with Orochimaru" _she thought_ "I can't help but feel like this is all going to get worse very fast"_

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**A/N: And there you have it. It wasn't the most glamorous chapter I have written, but it's better than nothing. And to make it all up, I'll be posting a special Halloween chapter for our story. Our favorite female characters will be partying and I am in desperate need of costume ideas for the girls. I'm looking for sexy, exotic ideas that will make the guys go nuts. So if you send your reviews, send in your costume ideas as well.**

**Thank you for sticking with me this far and I hope you stay with me still**

**JA ne**


	27. Fright Night

Chapter 27: Fright Night

**A/N: Hey Everybody! Since Halloween is around the corner, I've decided to do a Halloween special for our story! Hope it's to your liking and we'll be back with the main story in the next chapter. SO for now, enjoy the holiday filler.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

**HAPPY HALLOWEEN!**

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October was around the corner in Konoha, and Yuri was as hyper as ever. Halloween had to be her favorite holiday of the year and she made sure everyone knew that. The whole house would be decorated and she would pull her holiday pranks on everyone. Her most famous and most annoying prank was when she would put fake blood in the water tanks and have the showers spew out blood.

It was a classic prank that never got old. It was also a classic prank that got on Mikomi's nerves.

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**Three weeks before Halloween**

"YURI!!!!"

Mikomi stormed downstairs wearing nothing but a bath towel. Fake blood dripped off her body and soaked into the carpet.

Yuri was dressed up as Harley Quinn from Arkam Asylum at the moment. She had a tendency to dress up before Halloween.

She gave her goddaughter a fake horrified look.

"Oh, 'Komi-Chan! Are you alright? What happened?"

"Don't pull that crap on me. You put fake blood in the water tank again didn't you?"

She gave her a foxy grin.

"Maybe, what's it to you?"

Mikomi stopped her foot.

"Damnit Yuri, How many times do I have to tell you to stop doing that? That stuff stains everything"

"Oh relax, Mikomi. I'm having a little fun"

"Well you little fun makes a huge mess for me to pick up"

Yuri just laughed a little.

"Clean it up"

Yuri frowned.

"Come on Mikomi. It's almost Halloween! Can't I have a little fun?"

"You can have as much fun as you want. Just don't put anymore fake blood in the shower. It stains"

Yuri pouted like a three year old.

"Fine"

"Good. Now I'm going to the hot springs to wash up since you tampered with the showers"

She held on to her towel and went outside. She waved at Cloud as she passed by.

"Hey, Cloud"

Cloud wasn't really paying attention and waved back.

"Hey, Mikomi"

He froze in his tracks when he realized that she was walking outside wearing nothing but a towel on.

"Mikomi! Get back in the house right now! You can't go outside like that!"

His shouts proved to be pointless since she was already gone.

He quickly pulled out his phone and dialed Tifa's number.

"God that girl will be the death of me" he muttered to himself as he called his crush.

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Now, Mikomi could be careless at times and be reckless. She would fulfill her missions wearing nothing but her underwear or worse. She would walk around the village topless if she left like it (which she didn't). But she would never walk through the village wearing nothing but a towel with nothing underneath.

She quickly flash stepped to the hot spring and made sure no one was looking.

"_No one's here so that's good. Now I just need to get inside without being noticed"_

She walked inside without paying attention to where she was going. She was too focused on her surroundings that she didn't know that she bumped into someone until she did.

"Oh, sorry"

She looked up to see who she ran into and wished that she didn't.

Kakashi blinked as he saw his teammate wearing nothing but a towel. He was lucky that he wore a mask since he was a red as a tomato.

Mikomi blushed too and looked at her feet.

"Uh…hey, Kakashi. How's it going?"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Not much…so ... I take it Yuri pulled one of her holiday pranks on you?"

"Um, yeah. She did the fake blood in the shower again"

She pulled the towel around her tightly.

Kakashi chuckled a little.

"That prank never gets old"

Mikomi didn't say anything and just fiddled with her towel. The fake blood was starting to soak into the soft material.

Kakashi scratched the back of his head nervously.

"So…uh…"

He blushed slightly.

"Are you by some chance doing anything on Halloween? Or are you-"

"Mikomi!"

Tifa ran up to her and tackled her into a hug.

"There you are! I've been looking everywhere for you. Cloud called me and said you were running around the village wearing nothing but a towel"

Mikomi blushed.

"Well… I wasn't really running. Yuri pulled one of her holiday pranks on me and I want to get this fake blood out before it stains"

Tifa knew where this was going and pushed her through the hot springs.

"Ok then. Let's get you cleaned up so you don't look like you stepped out of a murder scene"

She waved at Kakashi as they passed by.

Kakashi's head slumped as they left.

"God that was too much for me" he said to himself.

Although, he wouldn't admit it to anyone that he enjoyed seeing Mikomi in a towel.

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"There we go. All squeaky clean"

Mikomi was blushing as Tifa washed her. It was bad enough that she joined her on the springs to begin with, but now she was being cleaned by her.

"_Relax Mikomi. Your best friend is just cleaning you off and bathing with you in the same pool. There's nothing wrong with this. Just remember that this is what friends do to relax. There's nothing wrong with this …ok, this is so wrong!'_

Her face went red as her best friend went to wash her hair.

"_This is insane. I feel like I'm five again and mom is giving me a bath. I thought I out grew this stage"_

Tifa poured water over her head and got the suds out of her hair. She noticed Mikomi's red face.

"Are you ok, Mikomi? The water isn't that hot is it?"

She quickly shook her head. If she said something, she knew her voice would sound strange.

Tifa got the last of the fake blood off before she smiled at her friend.

"All done"

Mikomi gave her a nervous smile in return.

"Thanks" she managed to squeak out.

Tifa just laughed at her.

"Aww, are you nervous to share a hot spring with your friend?"

Mikomi sunk lower into the water.

"N-no. I just never went to the hot springs with a friend. I don't know how you're suppose to react to bathing with your friend"

Tifa patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry. Things won't get weird unless you make them that way. Just relax and enjoy yourself"

"_How can I?"_ Mikomi thought. _"I find it weird bathing here even when I'm by myself"_

She quickly hopped out of the pool and wrapped herself in her towel.

"I'm out. This is too weird for me"

Tifa laughed at her when she ran out of the room.

"Poor, innocent Mikomi"

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Mikomi had dead pan look when she realized something.

She forgot that she came here without any clothes at all.

"_I was in such a hurry, that I just left the house with only a towel on"_

She sighed at her own stupidity.

Tifa came to the front with her clothes on and looked at her friend's troubled look.

"I take it you realized you didn't bring any clothes?"

"Yep"

Tifa pulled out her phone.

"I'll see if Yuffie can bring you something to wear until we get home"

Kakashi poked his head in to see that Mikomi was still there.

"Oh, you're still here Mikomi? That's good"

He went up to her and handed her a set of clothing.

"I figured you forgot to bring clothes with again, so brought you a set of mine to wear. Hope you don't mind?"

Mikomi beamed at him.

"No, that's perfectly fine. Thank you"

She went into the changing room and put on the large outfit that Kakashi gave her. The shirt covered her arms and she had to hold onto the pants so they wouldn't fall over. Over all, she looked small in the outfit, but at least she had something to wear.

"Thanks, Kakashi. Now I can go into my house and not have all of the guys looking at me"

Kakashi rubbed his neck nervously.

"No problem. I'll do anything to help my old teammate out. You just say the word and I'll be right there"

Mikomi blushed and fiddled with the shirt.

Tifa had a know-it-all grin plastered on her face.

"Come on, Mikomi. I bet Cloud is wondering what's taking me so long to find you"

"Oh, ok"

She waved as she walked away.

"See you later, Kakashi"

He waved back as she left.

When she left, he realized he forgot to ask her something.

"Wait, I didn't get to ask her if she wanted to go out with me. 'Sigh' Way to go Kakashi, you blew away another chance with her"

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Tifa giggled as they walked home.

"What's so funny?" Mikomi asked, even though she knew what this was about.

"You have a crush on Kakashi" Tifa said in a sing-song voice.

Mikomi just blushed.

"S-so what if I do? What's it to you?"

"Nothing. I just think it's cute that you have a crush on someone, that's all"

"Yeah, well, don't tell Kakashi. I don't he has any romantic feelings for me at all. I'm just a friend to him"

"I don't know. He was really blushing when he was around you"

"That's because I was practically naked in front of him. Any guy would blush at that…or get a nose bleed if they were perverts, but that 's not the point"

"_The point is that no one wants a Jinchuriki for a girlfriend. It's a given rule. Kakashi is only nice to me because I'm his old teammate and because dad was his sensei. He's only hanging out with me because he feels that he must, otherwise he wouldn't be near me at all"_

Her face fell as she thought this over. It's true that no one would want to be her boyfriend. She may be pretty, but she was still considered a monster to everyone. No one would willingly be the boyfriend to a Jinchuriki. In some ways, she was jealous that Bakuto had a girlfriend.

Tifa looked at her friend's sad expression.

"What's wrong, Mikomi?"

She looked at her friend with sad eyes.

"This may sound weird, but do you think I'll ever get a boyfriend?"

"Of course, why wouldn't you?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because no one wants a Jinchuriki as a girlfriend"

"That's stupid. You shouldn't let that get to you. I'm sure there are a lot of guys out there who want to have you as a girlfriend. You just have to wait for the right guy"

"How long do I have to wait?"

"I don't know. But when he comes, I'll be sure that he's treated properly for wanting to be with my best friend"

Mikomi smiled a little.

"I bet Cloud will do the same…well…maybe in his personal way"

Tifa laughed.

"Yep…He'll pull the over protective brother card and chase the poor guy away with his sword"

They both laughed as they thought of that.

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**Back at the house**

Cloud was reading the paper when all of a sudden, he sneezed.

"Someone must be talking about you" Yuri said as she passed by.

Cloud rolled his eyes and went back to reading. He was waiting to give Mikomi a serious lecture when she got home.

Bakuto gave downstairs with a bath towel wrapped around his waist.

He had fallen for Yuri's trap and had fake blood all over his body.

"Alright, who put fake blood in the firkin shower?"

Yuri just laughed as she saw another victim to her tricks.

Cloud didn't pay any attention and just waited for Mikomi to come home.

"I live in a nut house"

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**Two weeks before Halloween**

Yuri was pouting in the living room. Cloud had found out the real reason Mikomi ran out of the house half naked and forbid Yuri to pull her bloody shower trick again. Now she was stuck with what she called her 'cheesy' pranks and knew they wouldn't be as cool as her shower trick.

Today, she was dressed up as a vampire and dyed her hair black for the occasion.

Naruto came into the room and sat next to Yuri.

"What's wrong, Yuri? You seem down"

Yuri let out a huff of air.

"Cloud won't let me do my shower prank anymore. He said that if it's just going to ruin the shower and make everyone run to the hot springs naked, then I shouldn't be pulling a prank like that"

"But your shower joke is the best"

"I know, and now I have to do these corny jokes because Cloud ruined my fun. He's such a party pooper"

She crossed her arms over her chest and pouted some more.

Cloud walked by and gave Yuri a cold stare.

"You can pout all you want, you're still forbidden to pull your shower prank"

Yuri stuck her tongue out at him.

"You're not in charge of me. I'm older than you; I don't need to be lectured by a 25 year old"

"Well you act like a 5 year old, so you deserve a lecture. How you were able to raise Naruto and Mikomi for so long is beyond me"

Yuri shot up from her seat.

"Are you saying that I'm a bad godmother?!"

"No, you can just be irresponsible sometimes that it frightens me"

She went up the blonde and poked him in the chest.

"Listen here, Mister. I've been raising those two children for the past 13 years and continuing. I may appear to be a space cadet most of the time, but that's just because I want to be a cool parent who knows how to have fun. I tried to make their lives more enjoyable since it sucked for them anyway."

"And running around naked while performing your missions makes you look cool?"

"That's right. I'm fun and daring, unlike you. You always act cold and look like you don't care if anyone is having fun"

"Teaching Naruto how turn into a naked woman isn't my idea of fun"

"Then what is your idea of fun? I bet you don't know what fun is, do you?"

"I know what fun is, but it doesn't involve getting Naruto and Mikomi hurt. I'm responsible, unlike you"

Naruto was watching the whole time and decided now was the best time to leave. He didn't want to get caught in the middle when things started to fly.

Yuri got into Cloud's face and glared at him.

"Who do you think you are to call me irresponsible? You have no right to judge how I take care of those kids"

"Yeah I do. I have to take care of them while you're drunk and out of control. I'm the only one who seems to care about their well being"

"Oh, so your friends don't care, is that what you're saying?"

"No. I just feel like I'm the better guardian in this house"

"Quit acting like you own them. You're not their guardian, I am. You're just some guy who acts like an older brother to them"

"I am their older brother. I look after them while you go off and act like an idiot most of the time"

"How dare you!"

"It's the truth and you know it"

He walked off and without saying another word.

Yuri was fuming where she stood. Nobody talked to her like that and lived to tell the tale. She glared at Cloud's back as he left to go who knows where. He was going to pay.

"You just woke up the dragon, my spiky haired friend" She hissed.

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Cloud knew that what he said was wrong. But he just couldn't let Yuri act like a kid when she should be acting like an adult. He remembered the time when Yuri got seriously drunk and almost gave Naruto sake.

_Flashback_

_Yuri hiccupped as she downed another bottle of Sake._

"_Konoha really makes the best Sake ever" she slurred._

_Mikomi's eye twitched as Yuri swayed over to her._

"_Komi-chan, can you pour me some more Sake?"_

_She cringed as she smelled the alcohol from her breath._

"_No way. You've had enough for one night"_

"_But 'Komi-chan" she whined as she tugged at her pants._

"_No buts. You're starting to tip over and that means you've had enough. You need to take better care of yourself now that you're older. Sue some common sense for once"_

_Yuri pouted and decided to ask Cloud._

"_Cloud, will you get me some Sake?"_

_The blonde just glared at her._

"_What are you, 5? Get it yourself. And Mikomi's right, you've had enough so go to bed or something. You're giving me a headache"_

"_You're so mean" Yuri whined_

_Naruto came with a bottle of Sake from the kitchen._

"_Here Yuri. I got you some sake"_

_Yuri squealed like a fan girl as she was given her favorite drink._

"_Thank you, Naru-kun. Since you're such a good boy, I'll let you take a swig of Sake"_

"_What?!" Mikomi shrieked._

"_Cool!"_

_Naruto raised the bottle to his lips, only to have Cloud bash him in the head with his fist._

"_Ow!" Naruto cried._

_He rubbed his head and looked up at Cloud._

"_What was that for, Ni-san?"_

_Cloud just glared at him and took the bottle from him._

"_You should know better than to drink. You're 13 for god's sake."_

"_So? Nee-chan started drinking when she was 5"  
"I did not, that was an accident: Mikomi retorted. "Now go to bed. Little boys shouldn't be up this late"_

_Naruto pouted and stomped upstairs._

_Yuri grabbed the Sake from Cloud's hands and rubbed it to her face._

"_Oh, Sake. You are my one true love"_

_Mikomi rolled her eyes and went to bed._

_End flashback_

He and Mikomi had to make sure that they locked up the Sake after that. If Yuri was going to give kids alcohol, then there was no need for her to have it.

Honestly, how could Naruto and Mikomi live with her for that long? It was amazing that Mikomi didn't turn out like her.

"_Then again. She does have her moments when she gets crazy"_

"Ni-San!"

Naruto waved him down from Ichiraku's ramen stand.

Mikomi sat next to him and waved their friend down.

"Hey, Cloud. Come grab a bite with us"

He made his way over to the two that he considered his siblings.

Naruto was bouncing in his seat when Cloud sat next to him.

"Hey, Cloud. I heard from Naruto that you and Yuri were arguing or something" Mikomi said.

Cloud just shrugged as he ordered himself a bowel of Miso ramen.

"We were, but it was only because Yuri was acting childish and she kept saying I'm threatening her role as your guardian"

Mikomi rolled her eyes.

"Poor Yuri. She can be so naïve sometimes"

She broke her chopsticks and dug into her noodles.

"Don't take her seriously. She's probably just mad that you made her stop doing her shower joke. If she was mad at you for taking her place as a guardian, then she would have said something sooner"

Naruto wasn't paying attention and just stuffed his face into his bowl.

Mikomi pushed her bowl away when she finished.

"Yuri can be a handful at times, but she'll get over it. Just give her a day and she'll forget all of this"

"That just proves that she isn't being a good guardian" Cloud said. "She should act more like an adult and not like a kid"

"Don't take it the wrong way. Yuri is just trying to make our lives more fun. Being a Jinchuriki isn't living in the glamorous life, if you know what I mean. That's just her way of showing that she cares"

"If you say so"

Mikomi gave him a sly grin when he started eating. He felt her eyes on him and saw her out of the corner of his eyes.

"What?"

"Why are you so worked up on how Yuri raises us? I thought you didn't care?"

"I do care. I just didn't want to make a big deal about it before because I thought Yuri was fooling around, but I was wrong"

"Anyone could tell you that"

"My point exactly. That's why I think that you need a better guardian who doesn't act like a child"

Mikomi had a foxy grin on her face as she nudged Cloud.

"Oh, I get it. You've grown attached to the Jinchuriki kids."

"No. It's not that"

"Oh yes it is. I should have seen this coming. It all makes sense now. The 'no guys looking at me' and the 'no sake for Naruto' moments were a dead giveaway."

"Anyone would have acted like that"

"True. But you have a different way of showing it"

Cloud avoided looking at her which proved that she was right.

She patted him on the shoulder.

"Don't be shy about it, Cloud. I think it's sweet that you care for us that way"

"You might think that, but Yuri doesn't"

"Who care what Yuri says. I'll talk to her later and get this straighten out. There's nothing wrong with having more than one guardian"

"Hey, look it, I'm a walrus!" Naruto shouted as he shoved chopsticks up his nose.

"Especially for him"

She whacked him upside the head until the chopsticks fell out.

"Eat like a normal person, will you"

Naruto just stuck his tongue out and went back to eating like an animal.

Cloud and Mikomi rolled their eyes at him and went back to their meal.

They would deal with Yuri once they were done.

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**Back with Yuri**

"I'll show that bird brain. He'll regret the day that he ever messed with me"

Yuri sat at the kitchen table with a blue print of a trap she was going to set for Cloud.

So far, it consisted of using fake blood and feathers. It didn't seem much now, but it would be worth it in the end.

"Who does he think he is to tell me that I should be more mature when it comes to raising Naruto and Mikomi? I've been doing a fine job for 13 years. He's only done it for a few months. What makes him better than me?"

She was so caught up in her own little world that she didn't hear Tifa come in.

"What are you doing?"

Yuri yelped and quickly covered her plans.

"N-nothing. I'm just planning out my next Halloween prank"

"Oh, really? Let me see"

Yuri quickly pulled it away when she tried to grab it.

"No! It's not finished yet"

"I don't care; I can see what you have so far"

"No!"

"Come on, Yuri. Don't be stubborn"

They wrestled around for a bit until Tifa managed to grab the blue prints.

"NO! Don't look at them!" Yuri cried.

"Oh hush"

She scanned it over to see that it was a set up for Cloud.

"Yuri, why do you have Cloud in this?"

Yuri crossed her arms over her chest.

"Because my next prank is going to be on him. He's going to regret that he ever messed with me"

"What did he do?"

"He said I was immature and that I should take better care of Naruto and Mikomi"

She brandishes her fist in anger.

"Who does he think he is to say that to me? I've been raising those kids on my own for 13 years and he's only done it for a few months. What makes him better than me?"

Tifa sat next to her.

"It has nothing to do with that. Cloud is simply more attached to them than the rest of us"

"That doesn't change the fact that he dissed me as a godmother"

"Maybe that was wrong, but I'm sure he didn't mean it in a wrong way. Cloud really didn't have a family when he grew up, so he sees Naruto and Mikomi as the brother and sister he never had. He just wants to take care of the new family he was given, that's all"

"I don't care what he thinks. Naruto and Mikomi are my children, not his. He shouldn't take over someone else's job like that"

"He's not taking over. He's just trying to help. I'm sure it's hard raising two children on your own, so he wants to make it easier on you and pitch in. That's what everyone is trying to do. We're their family now and we want to help as much as possible"

Yuri mulled this all over. Tifa did have a point that it was hard to raise Naruto and Mikomi on her own. Maybe she was over thinking all of this.

"Maybe you're right" She murmured. "Maybe I was just jealous that there was someone else who was taking care of my godchildren"

She looked at her blue print and crumpled it up.

"Cloud's right. I do act childish"

Tifa patted her shoulder.

"No you're not. You just know how to have fun and make things livelier. The guys aren't use to that, so they don't know how to deal with it"

An idea came to Yuri's head.

"I think I know just how to make them warm up to me"

An evil grin spread across her face as she looked at her crumpled up plan.

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Naruto sulked as they came back from Ichiraku. He got in trouble for trying to eat his bowl while he was eating his ramen.

"I don't see what the big deal was"

Mikomi had a tick mark on her forehead.

"What gave you the idea that it was ok to eat your bowl? You're lucky you didn't choke on it"

"Aw, c'mon, Nee-chan. I was just happy that I was getting another order of ramen"

"You won't be so lucky now since the owner banned you from the shop for a week" Cloud said

Naruto just crossed his arms over his chest.

"Whatever. That old man can pout all he wants. He'll be begging for me to come back. I'm his best customer after all"

"Whatever"

Mikomi didn't realize she stepped in a trick wire until she did.

"What the?"

A giant bucket of fake blood spilled over and soaked the three. Cloud's hair was no longer blond or standing in place.

"Mikomi yelped when she got covered in the red, sticky liquid.

"No! I thought I was done with this" she whined.

Naruto was cheering away as he got showered in fake blood.

"Yay! Yuri pulled her blood trick!"

Yuri was laughing as she came downstairs.

"Oh, man. This is priceless. I thought I was going to get Cloud, but I got you three instead. Oh, this is perfect"

Mikomi glared at her godmother.

"Yuri! What the hell was that for!?"

Yuri wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Well, I was originally going to use this for revenge against Cloud, since he told me I was immature. But as I thought about it, what he said was true. I guess I was just jealous that someone else was taking care of my godchildren. So, I wanted to apologize"

"This is your way of apologizing?" Cloud snapped.

"Oh, no. I just wanted to prove to you that even thought I might act immature; I still know how to have fun. I just wanted you to understand that"

Mikomi and Cloud just glared at her.

"GET HER!!!"

They both went to tackle her, only slip on the fake blood that was all over the floor.

Yuri laughed as she watched them struggle to get up, only to slip and fall again.

Naruto thought it was fun and decided to join in as well.

"Woo Hoo! Dog Pile!"

He jumped on them and smeared fake blood on their faces.

"Naruto!" They shouted as they tried to get him off.

Yuri laughed some more.

"Don't worry, Cloud. You can help take care of Naruto and Mikomi as much as you want. You can even start now and help clean up this mess"

She walked upstairs and let them continue fighting and trying to get out of the mess.

"I guess Tifa was right. It's not so bad having someone else take care of those kids. Now I have some more relax time"

It took the three 10 minutes to finally get out of the sticky mess and another 20 minutes to clean everything up, including themselves.

Needless to say, Yuri found another way to use her favorite trick.

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**Three days before Halloween**

"Pull!"

Naruto threw a pumpkin in the air and watched as his sister hit it with her guns. The orange vegetable went off like a fire cracker and gave off a beautiful display of oranges. He grabbed another big one and threw it up in the air.

"This one is yours, Bakuto"

Bakuto whipped out his swords and cut his pumpkin into pieces.

It was strange that he was participating in such childish games, but then again, he needed to get away from Yuri and her jokes.

"Naruto, throw that big one that looks like your sisters head"

Mikomi glared at him as he said that.

Naruto threw it up and watched at Bakuto threw an exploding kunai into it.

Guts and goo went everywhere and splattered all over Mikomi.

She whipped the derby off of her and glared at Bakuto.

"You did that on purpose!"

Bakuto shrugged.

"It's your fault for being in the way"

Mikomi didn't say anything. She bent down and scooped up some pumpkin guts and made it into a ball.

Bakuto knew what she was going to do and didn't like it.

"Don't you dare" he warned.

Mikomi just let a foxy grin spread across her face and threw her ball of pumpkin goo. It slammed right into his face.

Naruto laughed as it slid off his face and landed at his feet.

"You bitch" he hissed.

He picked up some of the guts and threw it at her. He missed and got Naruto instead.

"Hey!"

He picked some goo up of his own and threw it at his sister.

"Naruto!"

It suddenly turned into a full out battle of pumpkin guts.

Orange slime flew through the sky as the three Jinchuriki attacked one another with it. They all laughed as they tried to get their targets, only to get someone else instead.

Mikomi had never seen Bakuto laughed so hard before. Maybe this meant that he was finally easing up.

They continued their battle until Cid yelled at them for getting it on the house. They just threw some goo at him and got him to join the fight as well.

That became one way of decorating a pumpkin for the Uzumaki family that day.

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**Halloween Day**

"Please?"

"No"

"Please?"

"No"

"Please?"

"No"

Yuri found out that there was going to be a big Halloween party in the village square and she decided to have the girls join in. Tifa, Yuffie and Yugito were up for it. It was Mikomi who was being the party pooper. She found out that they would have to dress up, and she wanted no part to that shenanigan.

Yuri was dressed up as a gothic fairy and was covered in black.

"Come on, 'Komi-chan. It won't be fun without you"

She held up a costume up in front of her.

"I even picked out a cute costume for you to wear"

Mikomi eyed it skeptically. I was hard to tell what it was, but she had a feeling it would be a revealing outfit.

"No thanks. I don't want to look like a hooker"

Yuri pouted.

"But the girls are going to wear the outfits I picked for them"

"That's because you either black mailed them, or they did it so you would leave them alone"

"Don't be such a party pooper, Mikomi. You're not really going to stay here with the guys, are you?"

The guys didn't want to go to the party when they found out they had to dress up. They decided to just stay home and watch horror movies instead.

"I was planning on it. You know I don't like dressing up. It ruins my character"

Yuri kicked at the ground.

"You did it when Kushina was alive" She mumbled.

Mikomi knew what she was pulling and didn't like it.

"Don't you be pulling that on me again Yuri. My mom would understand that I've grown out of the dress up stage and have taken my role as a ninja seriously"

Yuri crossed her arms and glared at her.

"You are going to this party, even if I have to drag you there"

Mikomi laughed at her.

"Go ahead and try. There's no way you'll be able to do it on your own"

Yuri gave her a sly grin.

"Is that so? In that case….GIRLS!"

Tifa, Yuffie and Yugito came downstairs.

"What's up, Yuri?"

"'Komi-chan is being a party pooper and won't dress up for the party. We need to take care of that"

They all had evil smirks on at the thought of dressing up Mikomi. They slowly ganged up on her and trapped her in a corner.

"Come on, Mikomi. Let's make you all pretty"

"You'll be beautiful when we're finished with you"

Mikomi let out a girl like scream as they grabbed her and brought her upstairs.

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Naruto bounced in his seat as he sat in front of the TV. He was going to stay home too and watch scary movies with the guys. Cloud thought it was a bad idea, but he knew that Naruto would find a way to join them, so just complied. This was the first year that he wouldn't go trick or treating.

"_I'm 13 now. I'm over that stage"_

He heard girly screams upstairs as the girls put make up on Mikomi.

"What the hell was that?" Cid asked.

"The girls are putting makeup on Nee-chan and she doesn't like it" Naruto said.

Cid just shrugged and sat down in one of the chairs.

"So you're not going to trick or treat this year? Barret is taking Denzel and Marlene, you should join them"

"No way. I'm too old for that. I'm going to watch scary movies like the rest of you guys. I'm not scared of anything"

"Uh-huh"

More screams could be heard upstairs.

"Mikomi, don't be such a baby. It's just lipstick"

"No! Keep that away from me!"

"Come on. It's not going to bite you"

"NO!!"

Screams and things crashing filled the house.

Bakuto sat down and covered his head with a pillow.

"God, will that banshee shut up? I'm getting a headache"

"Nee-chan just doesn't like makeup" Naruto said.

"Well, she should be quieter about it"

Cloud and Vincent came in with the movie that they would watch.

"Are you sure you want to watch these, Naruto? You'll probably be scared out of your mind"

"No problem. I need to be brave if I want to be Hokage. This will be my first step to facing everything"

"Uh-huh"

Mikomi tumbled downstairs. Her face was painted with makeup and looked like she just got out of being dressed up.

"Somebody help me!"

Yuri grabbed her by the ankle and dragged upstairs. Mikomi left claw marks as she dug her nails into the floor.

"NOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Mikomi, you get your butt upstairs and get dressed"

There was more screaming and things crashing.

"She really doesn't like to get dressed up" Cid thought.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

_15 minutes later_

"Ok, girls. Let's go"

Yuri came down as a gothic fairy. Her dress was pure black that had sparkles and a ripped hem. She wore black high heels that clicked as they hit the wood floor. Her black fairy wings sparkled as they hit the light. Her hair was dyed black for the occasion and she wore tons of dark makeup. Over all, she looked good for a 40 year old woman.

"Come on girls. The party isn't going to wait for us"

"We're coming. Don't get your wings in a knot"

Tifa came down as a sexy witch with a low cut top that showed her large cleavage nicely. She wore black pointy boots and had a hat to top it off.

Yugito went as an exotic cat woman to fit her theme as the two tailed cat. She wore a one piece black suit, black boots and topped it off with ears and a tail.

Yuffie went as s she devil and wore horns and pitchfork.

The guys were very impressed. Cloud and Bakuto didn't like the fact that their girlfriends were wearing revealing outfits, but they knew there was no way that they could change their minds with Yuri around.

Yuri tapped her foot as she waited for her goddaughter.

"Come on, Mikomi. We're all waiting for you"

"I'm not going" she said at the top of the stairs.

"Come on, 'Komi-chan. We worked so hard on your outfit. At least show the guys" Yuffie said.

"I'm not coming down dressed like this"

Yuri sighed.

"You are so stubborn"

She went upstairs and threw her over her shoulder.

"Hey! Put me down Yuri!"

She brought her downstairs and plopped her in front of the group.

All of the guy's eyes bugged out as they saw Mikomi's outfit. The cigarette that was in Cid's mouth fell out.

Mikomi's face was beat red as her guy friends looked at her revealing outfit.

Her costume consisted a very low cut black top that made her breasts almost pop out. A very short skirt and fishnet leggings. Black high heeled boots that went up to her thighs. A set of fox ears and a tail. And to top it all off, an ass load of makeup.

"What the hell are you wearing?" Cloud said.

Naruto was getting a nose bleed from looking at his sister.

Bakuto covered his eyes so he wouldn't be scared seeing his rival dressed up like that.

Yuri hugged Mikomi and rubbed her face against hers.

"Do you like it? I call it 'Sexy no Kitsu'"

"I call it, 'You're not leaving the house like that'" Cloud said

Mikomi was totally embarrassed.

"Why did you dress me up like this?" She said in a quiet, squeaky voice.

"Because you need to add a little flavor to your wardrobe" Yuri said.

"You wear the same old, boring thing. You need a new look"

"You made her look like a hooker" Cloud retorted. "Every single guy in Konoha will be over her"

"_Including that damn Kakashi"_

"Change into something else"

Mikomi grinned at that. She was about to say something, but Yuri interrupted her.

"No can do, Cloud. She's staying like this and that's final. Besides, I'll be with her the whole time, so don't worry about the guys"

She grabbed Mikomi and dragged her outside.

"Enjoy your movie night, Guys. We'll be back at around 11 or so"

The girls waved good bye and followed Yuri.

None of the guys said anything when they left.

"Well, that was scary" Bakuto said to himself.

Naruto picked up Friday The 13Th.

"Let's watch this one first"

He popped the movie in and was already scared at the opening credits.

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Mikomi wobbled as she walked. She wasn't use to wearing high heels that had a thin heel.

"I can't believe you dressed me up like this" She whined.

"Oh, quit whining. You look hot, so stop complaining"

"I don't want to look hot. I want to look normal"

"You can dress up for at least one day" Yugito said. "Halloween is where you can be somebody that you're not"

"Being a hooker wasn't on my list"

They passed by a couple guys and got whistled at.

"Great. I'm already being hit on and we're not even at the party"

"At least it's better than being treated like garbage" Yuffie pointed out.

"I don't know"

They ran into Kiba, Sakura, Ino and Sasuke.

Kiba was dressed as a werewolf, Sakura was dressed up as a witch, Ino dressed up as vampira and Sasuke didn't dress up at all.

"Hey guys" Yuri greeted. "How's it going?"

"Hi, Yuri-sensei" Sakura said.

"Aw, you all look so cute in your costumes" Tifa said

"Thanks, Tifa-san. It took us forever to make them" Kiba said

"You look nice in your outfits too" Ino added.

"Why thank you. You won't believe how much time it took us to get ready" Yuri said. "Especially for…" She looked behind her to see Mikomi hiding from view. She pulled her out and shoved her to the front.

"…our lovely Mikomi"

The genin's eyes were as wide as the guys.

"Mikomi-sensei…is that you?" Sakura asked in disbelief.

Mikomi's face went red.

"Yeah, it's me" she mumbled.

"Wow, you look so beautiful" Ino said.

"Thank you, Ino. But I'm not that nice looking"

"Not that nice looking?" Kiba asked. "Dude, I think I just hit puberty, you're that hot. I have to tell the guys about this"

He ran off to alert the guys about the sexy new Mikomi.

Sasuke was at a loss for words as he looked Mikomi. He didn't realize how red his face was at the moment and he didn't care. The only thing he could think of now was _'How does that loser, Naruto have such a hot sister'_

Mikomi sense him looking at her and gave him a wink.

He quickly averted his stared and looked at the ground.

"Well, we better get going. That party isn't going to wait for us" Yuri said. "See you later"

They waved good bye and went to the center of the village. Music could be heard as they got closer.

The whole area was decorated with Halloween decorations. People were dressed up and having a good time.

"This is so cool" Yuffie said.

"I know" Yuri said. "Now let's party!"

They all ran off in different directions. Mikomi stood where she was and just looked around.

"Ok. I guess I'm suppose to have fun on my own or something"

She walked off in no particular direction and just let the party take her where ever it felt like it.

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_Hour into the party_

Mikomi found herself bored within the first hour. Normally, she enjoyed parties, but not the ones where guys were eyeing her like prey.

"_Yuri is so going to get it when I get my hands on her"_

She spotted Kiba with Lee, Choji and Shikamaru.

"See guys, I told you she looked hot"

She just sweat dropped.

Lee and Choji and hearts in their eyes.

"Oh man, I think I'm in love" Choji said.

"Now I can see why Guy-sensei is so fond of Mikomi-sensei. She is like a rare rose in a garden of weeds"

"This is troublesome" Shikamaru said.

Mikomi just walked away and blended in with the crowed.

"_Super. I have hormonal 13 year old boys fawning over me. How lucky can I get?"_

She bumped into Guy and almost had to shield her eyes from his costume. He wore nothing but a loin cloth and it only covered the male part of his body and nothing.

Guy blushed when he saw Mikomi.

"M-Mikomi? Is that you?"

She rubbed her head awkwardly.

"Yeah, it's me"

Guy suddenly broke out into a grin.

"Oh goodness me! You're so beautiful! Even the goddess of beauty pales to your beauty"

He grabbed her hands.

"I never thought I would see the day where you would dress like this. Oh, I'm so fortunate to witness such a rare moment. I will forever cherish this moment in my heart"

Mikomi was getting a little weirded out by Guy.

"_This man is too much for me"_

"Say, would you like to dance with me?"

She didn't know what to say. She didn't want to hurt his feelings by saying no. But she really didn't feel like dancing at the moment.

"I would love to, Guy…but it's just that…"

"…she was going to dance with me"

Mikomi looked over her shoulder to see Kakashi right behind her. He was dressed up as a scarecrow, but minus the straw.

Guy glared at his rival.

"Kakashi! So you decided to come after all"

Kakashi shrugged.

"I had nothing better to do, so I thought that I would hang out for a bit"

He pulled Mikomi out of Guys grip and held her next to him.

"And it is a good thing that I did because now I can spend time with my old teammate"

Mikomi flushed as Kakashi held her. She didn't say anything as she was steered away from Guy. She didn't see Guy fuming as they walked away.

"_Curse you, Kakashi!" _Guy thought _"You have taken the lovely and sexy Mikomi from me yet again! You will pay!"_

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"Um…thanks for that"

Kakashi grinned at her.

"It's no big deal. I wouldn't dance with Guy if he was wearing nothing but loincloth too. I'm surprised he's not cold in that"

Mikomi blushed.

"He does have a way of standing out, that's for sure"

"True" Kakashi agreed.

"Although" He tweaked one of her fake ears.

"You sure do have a way of standing out. I never thought I would see you wear something like this"

Mikomi pulled at her skirt.

"This was all Yuri's idea. The girls ganged up on me and put this outfit on me against my will. I would never want to wear something like this"

She saw Kiba, Choji and Lee a little ways off with hearts in their eyes.

"Especially if it attracts 13 year old boys"

Kakashi chuckled and blocked their view of Mikomi. They could hear slight shouting when they weren't able to see Mikomi.

"Don't worry about things like that" Kakashi said. "I think you look rather cute in that outfit "

Mikomi blushed some more.

"_He thinks I'm cute"_

A fast paced song played next on the dance floor.

Kakashi held out his arm for her.

"Would you like to dance?"

She nodded and accepted his arm.

"I hope you don't mind losing a few toes. I can't really walk in these boots"

"Not a problem"

They walked over to the dance floor and started dancing to the fast music. Mikomi was doing well on her own for a while, but when she made a spin; her boot buckled under her and made her fall forward. She crashed into Kakashi's chest.

"Sorry" she blushed.

Kakashi just chuckled.

"If you wanted to dance close, you could have asked"

He held onto her hands and started dancing.

"Just hold on to me while you dance. That way, if you trip again, I'll catch you"

A light blush dusted her cheeks as she nodded.

They looked weird holding hands, but at least they were having fun.

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Yuri spotted Mikomi as she saw Kakashi lead her to the dance floor.

A grin spread to her lips as she watched the two dancing together.

"Lady Yuri"

Myou came up dressed as a geisha.

"Hello, Myou. Nice costume you have on"

"Thank you. I just wanted to let you know that I think Guy was trying to harass Captain Mikomi. I couldn't really tell from where I was at, but I thought it would be best to tell you so you could straighten this out"

"There's no need to" Yuri grinned.

"Huh?"

She pointed to the couple that was still dancing.

A hand shot up to Myou's mouth.

"Oh my. Is Captain Mikomi dancing with Kakashi Hatake?"

"She sure is"

A soft smile crossed Myou's face.

"She looks so happy with him"

"I know. Don't they make a cute couple?"

"Indeed"

"Well. At least I know who my future son-in-law will be"

Myou blushed at that.

"L-lady Yuri! You shouldn't be talking about things like that!"

Yuri shrugged.

"Hey, I know those two are in love with each other, they're just too stubborn to admit it"

Myou didn't say anything and just watched her captain dance.

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By the time the fifth dance started playing, Mikomi and Kakashi were beat.

"Let's go sit down" Mikomi shouted over the music.

They sat down near one of the tables that were place all over the area.

Mikomi's cheeks were flushed from dancing so much.

"I've danced that much in my life"

"Me either. I hardly dance at all" Kakashi admitted.

Mikomi giggled.  
"You're so weird, Kakashi"

Yuffie and Yugito came by with drinks in hand.

"Hey guys" Yuffie slurred. "You have got to try this Boo-berry punch they're giving out. It's awesome"

Yugito steadied her drunken friend.

"Sorry. She had one too many sadly. I've been trying to make her stop, but she won't listen"

Yuffie took another swig of her drink.

"Yuffie, you should really ease up on the drinks" Mikomi said. "We don't want you to have a stomach ache"

Yuffie lowered her drink.

"Oh alright"

She slammed her drink down in a sloppy manner.

"Here, you can finish it up for me"

She spotted someone dressed as a chicken and mistook it as a Chocobo.

"Oh my god! They have Chocobos here. Wait Mr. Chocobo, I want to pet you!"

She ran after the 'Chocobo' and left Yugito behind.

"I might as well go after her"

She placed her drink down and went after her drunken friend.

Mikomi eyed the drinks on their table.

"Cool. Free drinks"

She took a swig of one and was greeted to a burst of fruity flavors.

"Wow, this is good"

She downed it in one gulp and went to drink the other. Kakashi grabbed her hand before she could reach it.

"Don't overdo it, Mikomi. I don't want to see you acting like Yuffie"

She waved him off.

"Relax. I can handle liquor better than Yuffie can. I'm as sober as a bird"

She downed the drink and slammed her glass down.

Her head became light and her eyesight went blurry.

"Maybe I can't hold my liquor after all" She swayed.

Kakashi carefully picked her up and slung her arm over her shoulder.

"Let's take you home. I think you partied out"

Mikomi groaned as they walked.

Tifa came by and spotted Mikomi leaning on Kakashi.

"What happened here?"

"She had one too many drinks and she's pretty much drunk" Kakashi said.

Mikomi looked at her friend with pleading eyes.

"Tifaaaa, My head hurts" she whined.

"Oh, poor baby"

She took her from Kakashi and had her leaned up against her.

"I'll take her home. Thanks for watching her, Kakashi"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

"It's no problem"

"Alright, Mikomi. Let's go home"

Mikomi moaned as she was moved.

"My head's spinning"

Tifa gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry. We'll be home soon"

Kakashi waved good bye as they left. When they were out of sight, he pulled out Mikomi's fox ears that she had on before. He held them close to his chest and put them back into his pocket.

This would be the best night he ever had in his life.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&Naruto was hiding behind Vincent's cape as they watched Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He let out a small scream when he saw Leather face cut the guys leg off and hung him on a meat hook.

Cloud rolled his eyes as he saw Naruto tremble.

"If you're so scared, then don't watch it" he said. "It's time that you went to bed anyway"

"No way!" Naruto cried. "If I go to bed now, I'll be having nightmares for sure! I don't want to go to bed by myself"

He grabbed Cloud's arm for dear life.

"Ni-san please let me stay with you tonight! I'll sleep on the floor, I swear. Please don't let me go to bed myself"

He gave him the sappiest look he could muster. Cloud just sweat dropped at the sight of the child.

"Just let him, Cloud" Cid said. "I don't want to be waken up during the night because he had nightmares from the movies"

Naruto held on to his arm like a Koala bear.

"Please Ni-San. Don't make me go into my creepy room. Please!"

Cloud finally gave in and sighed.

"If you snore, then you're out"

"Yay!"

He hugged the older blonde tightly.

"Thank you, Ni-San"

"Yeah, yeah"

Tifa came inside and brought Mikomi upstairs.

"What are you doing back so early?"

"Mikomi got a little wasted at the party, so I brought her home" Tifa said.

"So the stupid fox can get drunk after all" Bakuto said. I never thought that was possible"

Tifa didn't say anything as she brought Mikomi to her room.

"A good night's sleep should do the trick"

She covered her up with her costume still on.

"Hope you like your PJ's for the night"

She could hear Yuri come in with Yugito and Yuffie in tow.

"I might as well take care of the other wasted girls"

She ruffled her hair and left her room.

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Mikomi slept well that night. She dreamed of the party and dancing with Kakashi earlier. They played over in her head as the night went on. A smile covered her face as she recalled the day's events. It turned out to be a strange, yet magical day. She was forced to dress as a hooker and she was able to dance with the love of her life.

She remembered a saying Yuri once told her when she was younger.

"_You gotta love Halloween. It brings people together"_

That was strange; yet true.

She and Kakashi were able to get closer and it was all thanks to a festive holiday.

She would have to thank Yuri in the morning for making her go to that party.

But for now, she would try to get over the massive headache she had.

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**A/N: Ta Da! There you go! One Halloween special just for you! Sorry if it didn't seem much, but at least you had another chapter to read. **

**I want to give a special thanks to Chaos Dragon-Fox, Yumi-no-Taiyo and CervantesOsis for giving me the costume ideas. They were awesome!**

**And if you want to see Mikomi's costume, go to Deviant Art and type in Akuoreo and look at the series titled 'Sexy no Kitsu' (Thank you CervantesOsis)**

**We'll be back to the regular story next chapter, so stay tuned.**

**Have a Happy Halloween and stay safe!**


	28. What now?

Chapter 28: What Now?

**A/N: Hey everyone. Here's the next chapter as promised. Sorry if it's a little choppy, I sort of had writers blocks when I was typing this so bear with me. Plus, I was kind of sick as well. But have no fear; my illness hasn't stopped me from giving my fans what they wanted. Please enjoy and send in those reviews.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7, If I did, I'm I would get sued for what I would do to the characters, 'sigh'**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"_Aerith Talking"_

* * *

_She found herself once again in the field of flowers. She didn't know why she was here or how she got here in the first place. All she knew was that she was in an open field and that she was bound to run into that woman she met before._

_Sure enough, the pink female appeared out of thin air._

"_It's nice to see you again"__ She said._

_Mikomi just waved at the woman. She really didn't know how to greet someone that appeared in her mind._

_She kept wondering if this was Aerith. The one who was dear to AVALANCE and who saved the planet. If this was really her, then why was she seeing a dead person?_

_She knew that there was a 50% that she was wrong, but she figured it would be better to ask rather than letting this rattle her brain._

"_Is it ok if I ask you something?"_

_The woman just gave a gentle smile._

"_Go ahead"_

_She scratched the back of her neck._

"_Are you…by some chance…Aerith?"_

_The woman nodded._

"_I am__"_

_Mikomi felt her breath rush out of her. She was talking to a dead person and she didn't know if she was going insane._

_Aerith laughed at her expression._

'_What's the matter? You look like you just saw a ghost"_

_Mikomi quickly composed herself._

"_Sorry. It's just that, well…aren't you…"_

""_Dead?"_

_She nodded her head like an idiot._

"_Yes, I'm dead. I have been for a while"_

"_If you're dead…then why can I see you?"_

_Aerith smiled._

"_I like to drop into the minds of my friends to see how they're doing. I do that to Cloud a lot to make sure he doesn't get depressed"_

"_You see Cloud?"_

"_Yep"_

_She looked at the ground for a moment before she looked at the Cetra._

"_Why am I seeing you then? I don't really know you and I never met you before when you were alive, so why now?"_

"_That's simple. I wanted to meet the person who has lightened up my friends spirits" __She said. __"I been watching you for a while and I just wanted to meet you in person"_

_She grabbed her hands and held them in hers._

"_Thank you so much for being there for Cloud and everyone. They weren't the same after I died, and you were that little boost they needed to keep going"_

_Mikomi blushed._

"_I-I really didn't do anything. If anyone, it's AVALANCE who gave me that little push. They showed me that there is humanity left in this world and that not everyone judges a person by their secrets. I didn't do anything"_

"_That's not true" __Aerith said__ "Just by staying with them, you have changed them deeply. Heck, Cloud's even smiling now, thanks to you"_

_Mikomi blushed slightly._

"_W-well, he is a bit more cheerful since I first met him"_

_She quickly shook her head._

"_What am I saying? This doesn't change the fact that I'm talking to you in my head. This isn't really normal"_

_Aerith giggled._

"_True, but your life isn't really normal to begin with"_

_Mikomi just made a face._

"_Anyway. Since I can see you now, does that mean I can talk to you?"_

_Aerith nodded._

"_If you ever need someone to talk to, just call me. I'll be here"_

_Mikomi smiled._

"_That's good to know. I hope to see you again soon"_

_She felt herself waking up from her slumber._

"_See ya, Aerith."_

_The Cetra waved._

"_Don't be a stranger"_

_Everything went blank after that._

* * *

She woke up from her nap on the couch. It had been three days since they got out of the Forest of Death. She had been asleep this whole time. Her body was still reacting to the seal that Orochimaru placed on her and she still couldn't hear Usagi.

She grabbed her head slightly as she remembered her encounter with Aerith.

'_Was it all a dream?'_

She didn't really know at the moment. It felt too real to be a dream, but then again it could have been a Genjutsu.

Cracking the kinks out of her back. She sat up and looked around. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who slept in the living room. Yuri slept on one couch, snoring like a log. Cloud and Tifa were asleep on the love seat. Yuffie was on the floor and Bakuto slept on another couch. Everyone else must have went to their rooms and slept there.

Getting up from her makeshift bed, she folded the blanket that covered her and went upstairs to shower. She smelled pretty bad and it was starting to give her a headache.

Going into the nearest bathroom, she turned on the water and waited for it warm up. She peeled off her torn up clothes and threw them in the hamper. Going into the clothes that needed to be washed today, she pulled out a pair of old PJ's and set them on the sink. She stepped in the shower when it was warm enough and washed away the grime that covered her.

Her mind began to wander as she scrubbed the shampoo into her hair. Why did Orochimaru come back to the village? Surely he had a reason to return to the village he hated most. She thought Sarutobi would know when she showed him the security tape, but he was as lost as she was.

Things were so crazy with the exams going. There were so many crazy people in the village that she was starting to get scared going outside. Not only was Orochimaru lurking around, but that Garra kid was giving her the chills. There was something about that kid that set the alarms off in her head.

Her brain hurt from thinking too much. So many things were happening at the same time that it was making her head spin.

Her brain was frazzled as she stepped out of the shower.

"I'm losing it" she said to herself as she dried off.

She slipped into a tank top and a pair of shorts before going downstairs.

Maybe Yuri would have answers to what was going on.

* * *

Everyone was pretty much up when she came down.

"Moring, Mikomi" Tifa yawned.

She replied back and saw that Yuri was still asleep. She looked unattractive as she had her leg resting up on the head of the sofa and had drool coming out of her mouth.

Bakuto groaned as he was woken up from the snoring.

"Will someone shut that woman up? I'm trying to sleep"

Mikomi went over to her godmother and nudged her a bit.

"Yuri. It's time to wake up" she said softly.

Yuri just rolled over and went back to snoring.

Mikomi nudged her again.

"Yuri"

"Five more minutes, mommy" was her reply.

Mikomi just rolled her eyes.

"You're unbelievable"

She went into the kitchen and brought out a blare horn. She held it up to her ear and let it off. Yuri jumped while Bakuto held his head.

"Bitch! What the hell was that for?" he yelled.

She just ignored him and paid attention to her now alert godmother.

"Ow! What was that for, 'Komi-chan?" Yuri whined.

"I needed to talk to you and you wouldn't wake up"

Yuri just pouted.

"And I was having a really good dream too"

"I'm so sorry to ruin that" Mikomi said without a hint of compassion.

"Really?"

"No"

"You're mean!"

"You'll get over it"

Yuri got up with annoyance and followed Mikomi into the kitchen.

"Alright, Mikomi. What is so important that you had to wake me up from my wonderful dream of gnomes and candy canes?"

Mikomi just gave her a blank stare.

"Aside from waking you up from that bizarre dream, I also had questions regarding Orochimaru"

Yuri's face grew grim.

"I should have seen this coming"

She sat down by the table.

"I don't know what he's after, if that's what you want to know"

"I figured as much. But do you have any idea why he would come back?"

"Not a clue. All I know is that he's probably after some sort of new jutsu or ways to find immortality. Other than that, I haven't the slightest idea"

Bakuto and Tifa peered into the kitchen. They wanted to know what was going on as well.

Mikomi looked at her hands for a moment.

"What about that seal he placed on me? Do you know about that?"

"Now that, I know. It's basically a seal that is made to counteract another seal. Basically, that five pronged seal is made so that you can't have control over your chakra and Usagi, or rather, you can't use Usagi's powers. You lose your connection to your other half"

'_That explains why I can't hear Usagi' _she thought.

"Do you think you can undo the seal?"

Yuri waved her hand in front of her.

"Sorry, no can do. I'm an expert at placing seals on, not removing them. The only ones who can remove that seal are Sarutobi and Jiraiya"

Mikomi placed her head on the table.

There was no way she could ask for Sarutobi's help now since he did to deal with the Chunin exams and now Orochimaru. And she had no idea where Jiraiya was, so he was out of the picture.

"So I'm basically screwed?"

"Pretty much, yeah"

She groaned.

"Great"

Tifa went over and patted her on the back.

"Cheer up, Mikomi. It could be worse"

She looked at her friend.

"How?"

"You could have been killed" Cloud said from the doorway.

Mikomi snorted.

"As if. I'm too stubborn to die. No matter how many times I get hurt or get hospitalized, I'm still breathing the next day. Nothing will get rid of me"

"Not if I can help it" Bakuto muttered.

Mikomi glared at him.

"Up yours, you damn dragon"

Bakuto glared at her in return.

"Now, now, children. This is no time to fight" Yuri said in her mock lecture tone.

"We should be getting along in times like these. Since we don't know where Orochimaru is, we need to cover each other's backs"

"How? I can't use my chakra, so how will I be able to help?" Mikomi asked.

"We'll help" Tifa said.

"If you teach us how to perform jutsus then we might be able to help"

Mikomi groaned.

"You're still going on about that?"

"Of course we are. We want to help and we can't with the way we are now"

"You're fine with the way that you are. There is no need for you to learn jutsus"

"Stop being a stubborn ass and help us" Cloud said.

"We taught you how to use materia when you were stuck with us, so now it's your turn to return the favor"

Mikomi glared at him.

"Are you blackmailing me?"

The blonde shrugged.

"I'll do whatever it takes to make you agree with us. Just say yes and things will be easier for all of us"

"And if I say no?"

An evil glint flashed across his Mako infused eyes.

"Then you'll see a very angry version of me, and you won't like it when I'm angry"

Mikomi snorted.

"You're just talk"

"You wish. I can get real serious real fast"

Tifa held her shoulder.

"Just say yes, I don't want to see you get hurt again for us"

She have her the puppy dog look that Yuri taught her.

Mikomi could feel herself caving in.

"_No. Don't give in. You are a lot stronger than that. Don't be swayed by that look. You're made of steel"_

"Fine"

"_Or not"_

Tifa cheered.

"Thank you Mikomi"

She gave her a tight hug.

"I promise you won't regret this"

She went upstairs to tell the others about the good news.

Cloud smirked at her.

"Now was that so hard?"

She gave him the finger.

"Shove it, Spiky"

He just waved her off and went up to his room to get better sleep.

"You are so whipped" Bakuto said.

"Look who's talking. Yugito has you so whipped; I bet you would jump off a cliff if she asked you to"

Bakuto just glared at her.

"Ass"

He left and went back to his room.

Yuri patted her on the back.

"Well, it looks like we'll be having a few students. Isn't that exciting?"

Mikomi rested her head on the table.

"Super"

She could have sworn that she heard Aerith laughing.

"_Feel free to see me when you're at your breaking point"_

She just whined.

"Now what am I going to do?"

* * *

**A/N: Sorry if it was too short. I thought you would like something that will foreshadow to what is going to happen next. So now Mikomi has met Aerith, I wonder how that will play out later on. (Heh Heh) **

**Anyway, send in those reviews and let me know what you think about AVALANCE learning how to perform jutsus. I just know that it's going to be ugly, yet funny at the same time. **

**Well, now I'm going to take care of this cold of mine and rest up. Maybe I can even start on my newest fanfiction while I'm at it.**


	29. Training Time

Chapter 29: Training Time

**A/N: Hello everyone! I'm in such a good mood today that I thought I would share it with you all. I finally finished Final Fantasy X after playing it for three months and I'm just so happy. This is the first Final Fantasy game that I've ever played and managed to finish. Any who, let's get on with the story. I'm sure this is what you've all been waiting for since this story began. **

**I apologize in advance if this chapter sucks. I really didn't know where to go with this chapter, but I knew I had to write it. I promise to make it better with the next chapter, so please forgive me if this sucks. Just don't send any flames!**

**Also, I've been wondering lately if Mikomi and Yuri are considered as Mary-Sue's. Do you think so? I have no idea and I created them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do however own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

* * *

"_This has got to be the worst idea ever" _was the only thing that popped into Mikomi's head as she watched the little training session.

Since she was pretty much useless with Orochimaru's seal on her, she had to watch as Yuri tried to explain Chakra to AVALANCHCE. It was a real eye sore to watch Yuri explain everything with diagrams and examples. Luckily, she had Bakuto and Myou to break everything for them to understand.

So now she found herself sitting under a tree and watched as everyone tried to manipulate chakra, or to see if they even had chakra for that matter.

* * *

"Alright, guys. Since 'Komi-chan is disabled for the moment, I will be your instructor" Yuri beamed.

Some of the guys groaned at that.

Bakuto stepped in.

"What she's trying to say is, she, along with Myou and I, will be helping you while the stupid fox is recuperating from her stupidity, although I doubt that'll be possible since she's been stupid from the very beginning"

Mikomi chucked a shoe at his head.

"Shove it you damn dragon!"

Bakuto glared at her.

"Shut up you stupid fox! It's your fault that you got yourself in this mess"

Mikomi went to throw another shoe at her but Yugito stopped her.

"Now, now, Mikomi. You should be resting. Yuri said that your body is still recovering from your fight with Orochimaru"

Mikomi just grumbled and dropped her shoe.

"Fine"

Myou looked around nervously.

"U-um, Captain?"

"What is it Myou?"

"I-is it ok if I ask what it is that you need me for? I'm honored that you wanted my help, but I don't know what good I'll be"

Mikomi sighed.

Typical Myou, always thinking poorly of herself. Never giving herself any credit.

"Myou, how many times do I have to tell you that you're a very talented ninja?"

"But Captain"

"No buts, I need your help the most because I don't know if my friends are able to create chakra. That is where your specialties come in. you need to tell me who is capable of learning jutus and who can't. Think you can do that?"

Myou blushed a little but nodded.

"Yes, Captain. I won't let you down"

Mikomi smiled.

"Thank you, Myou"

The Hyuga blushed and went over to Bakuto and Yuri.

* * *

"And that's pretty much it. Any questions?"

Yuri had given everyone one of her chakra 'lessons' and came with poor results. They all just stared at her with blank looks like they didn't understood a word she said.

Yuri sweat dropped at the looks she was given.

"_I knew I should have used the puppets and diagrams"_

Bakuto sighed and took over.

"Perhaps this will be a better explanation"

He summoned up his chakra and let it cover his body. The bluish chakra made his entire body glow.

"To make it simple for you guys. Chakra is basically the natural essence that lives within our bodies. By concentrating on your mental and physical energies, you will be able to summon up chakra. And once you are able to do that, then you will be able to perform jutus"

He canceled his summon and let his body go back to normal.

"Does that clear things up?"

Some of them nodded, while others looked confused.

Bakuto sighed and looked at Mikomi.

"Perhaps you would like to explain this to them, since I'm not getting anywhere with them"

Mikomi rolled her eyes at him.

"It's like having Mako running through your veins"

That cleared it up for them. They knew how to use Mako since they lived in a world that was filled with it.

Myou stepped forward.

"If you'll give me a moment, I'll check to see if you're capable of using chakra"

She activated her Byakugan and checked each individual.

All seemed capable of having chakra, except for Cat Sith, who was a robot.

"All of you look like you would be ok…but…"

She looked at Cat Sith.

"I'm afraid I couldn't find any chakra within you. I'm sorry"

Cat Sith jumped off Red Xlll's back.

"It's alright lassie. I'll just be the mascot then"

He went over to Mikomi and plopped himself in her lap.

Bakuto went back to the heart of the matter at hand.

"Anyway. Let's see what you're capable of and try to summon your chakras"

Everyone followed Yuri's example and tried to bring forth the natural energies that made Konoha.

* * *

Mikomi sighed as she watched her friends try to summon their chakra. It was pretty ugly to watch since they knew zip to none about gathering chakra at all.

"Does Bakuto know what he's doing?"

Yugito sweat dropped as she watched her boyfriend try to teach Yuffie how to summon chakral better.

"I don't think so. Bakuto never did like teaching anyone stuff, said he didn't have the patience for it"

"Then why in the world is he doing it now?"

"Maybe because he knew that Yuri would get everyone lost in her explanation and because he was bored"

Mikomi hung her head.

"This has got to be the worst idea ever. Why did I let them trick me into doing this?"

"Aww, cheer up, Mikomi" Cat Sith said. "We just want to help ya. It isn't right for a wee lassie to be fighting as much as you do. You need to take a break every once in a while, otherwise you'll get grey hair in no time"

Mikomi sweat dropped.

"Thanks"

* * *

After 15 minutes of practicing, Myou went over to give her captain a full report.

"How bad is the training going?"

Myou fiddled with her fingers in a Hinata manner.

"W-well, Cloud, Tifa, Vincent and Cid are doing very well and have managed to summon their chakra. But the rest aren't doing so good. I think Bakuto is losing his patience and Yuri is just making things more confusing"

She fell to her knees and bowed.

"I'm sorry, Captain. I knew I wouldn't be of any help to you, I don't know what I was thinking when I agreed to help! I just made things worse, haven't I?"

Mikomi sighed at the Hyuga.

"Myou, get up" she said tiredly.

The young Hyuga sat up and looked at her Captain through her bangs.

"How many times to I have to tell you to stop thinking like that? You're doing just fine with helping. It's just that Yuri and Bakuto don't know what they're doing at the moment. And you're not use to teaching anyone anything, so you don't know what to do"

Myou bowed her head in shame.

"Still…I wish there was some way that I could help you and your friends"

Mikomi rubbed her chin in thought.

"Well…there is something you could help me with"

Myou looked at her Captain hopefully.

"What is it?"

Mikomi grinned.

"Well…."

* * *

"I never thought I would live to see you asking me for help, Mikomi"

Mikomi was blushing as she looked at Kakashi.

Myou bowed to her Captain.

"Here you are, Captain. I got Kakashi-san, just like you asked"

Mikomi nodded in thanks.

Kakashi looked over to the little training group that Yuri and Bakuto were teaching.

"Do I want to know what's going on?"

Mikomi coughed in embarrassment.

"Well, here's the thing. Cloud thought it would be a good idea if he and his friends learned how to perform jutus and I stupidly let Yuri and Bakuto teach them how to control their chakra. Since I know you are an expert at teaching things, I thought it would be the wisest idea to let you take over and teach my friends before Yuri kills them. Think you can do that?"

Her face went redder as she spoke to him. She felt embarrassed that she had to ask for help from someone, let alone, the guy she had a huge crush on.

"_Oh, god. I must look like a helpless idiot right now. I never ask for help, and now when I do, I have to ask Kakashi. I hope he doesn't take this the wrong way or anything"_

Kakashi chuckled.

"You look so cute when you blush, you know that?"

Mikomi ducked her head so he wouldn't see her face.

Kakashi crouched down and lifted her chin up so he could see her.

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about. I would be more than happy to help you out. You are my best friend, right?"

Mikomi didn't say anything. She was too embarrassed to speak.

Yugito spared her further embarrassment.

"Thank you again for helping out Kakashi. You might want to go help Yuri and Bakuto before things get real ugly"

Kakashi rubbed his head.

"Right, right. Yuri does have tendency to make things complicated"

He gave Mikomi a wink before he went to save Yuri's training session.

Mikomi looked at the spot where Kakashi was seconds ago.

"_He winked at me!"_

Yugito waved her hand in front of her face.

"Hello? Anyone home?"

* * *

Bakuto held the bridge of his nose. He was at his wits end with this teaching and he felt like he was about to snap.

He spent 15 minutes teaching everyone how to manipulate their chakra, and came out with poor results. Only Cloud, Tifa, Vincent and Cid managed to master it, but everyone else was pretty much helpless. They didn't know how to summon their chakra at all and he had to give them baby steps on how to do it. Yuri wasn't helping out either. She just made things worse with her crappy diagrams and her examples. It was obvious that she knew zip to none about teaching and had to make things up along the way.

"_Is it that hard to manipulate chakra? This should be as easy as pie! Why do they suck so much?"_

"**Give them a break, Bakuto. They don't use chakra from where they're from, so this is new to them. Plus, it's not their fault that you suck at teaching"**

"_Shut up! No one asked for your opinion, Taimat"_

Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and waved at them.

"Hi, everyone. How's it going?"

Cloud's eye twitched angrily as he spotted the scarecrow.

Yuri smiled at Kakashi.

"Hi, Kakashi. What brings you here?"

Kakashi ran his hand through his silver hair.

"Well, Mikomi said that you were having trouble teaching her friends, so she asked me to help you out. Hope you don't mind"

Cloud was about to protest when Yuri hip checked him out of the way.

"Of course it's ok. We can use all the help that we can get. Feel free to take over and d whatever you want"

Bakuto sighed in relief. He could finally get a break.

"_I guess that stupid Fox is useful after all. I'll have to thank her later….if I remember"_

Kakashi got into full teaching mode and went to business.

"Alright you guys. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to master Justus that not even the Fourth Hokage could perform"

Yuri waved her hand in front of her face.

"You don't have to get that carried away. But, if you're willing to take over my job, then I shouldn't complain"

She looked at Bakuto.

"Are you an expert at Justus's?"

Bakuto gave her a look that read 'what kind of question is that?'

"Ok then. In that case, we can show Cloud, Tifa, Vincent, and Cid how to perform Justus while Kakashi takes care of the others"

Bakuto shrugged.

"Sounds like a plan. I just hope you're better at explain jutus than you are at chakra manipulation"

"Please. I'm one of the Sanin. I'm known for my jutus."

"I don't know weither to be glad or afraid to hear that"

Yuri just laughed and led their group away from Kakashi's group.

* * *

"It looks like things are getting better" Yugito said.

Mikomi shrugged as she opened the Bento box that Myou had got her.

"Perhaps, but we'll have to wait and see how things unfold. It's too early to tell"

Yugito didn't say anything as she played with Cat Sith. She thought he was too cute to be a robot.

Myou sat next to her captain. She didn't really want to teach anything since she was horrible at it, so she settled with sitting with Mikomi.

"Captain. Do you think this is a good idea, teaching your friends Justus?"

Mikomi just shrugged.

"I don't really know. Part of me is saying that this is a bad idea, but the other part is saying that it's a good idea"

"Which part do you agree with?"

"The bad idea one"

"Then why are you letting this happen?" Yugito asked.

"Because I have no life and they know I can never say no to them. That's the downside to being me"

Both girls just sweat dropped at her.

Cat Sith jumped in Yugito's lap.

"It's true though. She never refuses us"

"That's ….interesting"

Mikomi just sighed and went to her own little world.

She really wasn't looking forward to the end results to this training session because she knew it was going to be ugly.

She just hoped that she wasn't going to regret doing this.

* * *

**At the end of the day**

It turn out that having Kakashi help did pay off. Not only was he able to teach AVALANCE how to manipulate chakra, but he even managed to show them a few jutsus in the process. So far, they were able to perform the substitution jutsu, the transformation jutsu and even knew what their chakra elements were.

Cloud turned out to have Wind chakra, which was no surprise.

Tifa had Earth.

Vincent had Fire.

Cid had Water.

Barret had Earth.

Yuffie had Water.

Red Xlll had Fire.

Overall, their elements matched up to their personalities quite well.

Yuri was clapping and jumping in place.

"Hurray! You can perform jutsus! Oh, I'm so happy; I knew my training would pull off"

"You hardly did anything" Bakuto said.

Yuri put him in a headlock and gave him a noogie.

Mikomi smiled at her friends. She was glad that they were able to pull this off, even if she was against it in the beginning.

"Way to go guys. You really surprised me. Usually, it takes months to pull of what you did, but since you're all special, I guess I shouldn't be surprised"

Yuffie pounced on her and gave her a bear hug.

"Isn't this cool, 'Komi-chan? Now we can fight just like you! Maybe we can go on missions together!"

Mikomi tried to pull away, but the Wutai just held her tighter.

"Easy, Yuffie. Don't get ahead of yourself just yet. You need to officially be a ninja from this village to take missions"

Yuffie let her go and pouted.

"Oh, poopie!"

Kakashi chuckled.

"My, you have some energetic friends"

Mikomi shyly smiled at him when he got closer.

"Thanks again, Kakashi. You were a real help today"

"Oh, it's no big deal. Like I said. I would do anything to help out my best friend"

He ruffled her hair a bit.

"You just get better ok? I miss the old you"

Mikomi blushed for the hundredth time that day.

"Kiri Kiri Mai!"

The two Jonin looked in time to see a set of wind blades aimed at Kakashi. The scarecrow jumped out of the way in time, but was slightly shaken.

"Are you ok, Kakashi?" Mikomi asked.

"I'm fine. That just startled me, that's all. Who could have pulled off a jutsu like that?"

He looked around the field and saw Cloud in fighting stance with his sword drawn.

Mikomi got in his face and started chewing him out.

"Cloud! Are you crazy?! You could have cut him in half! What were you thinking, performing a jutsu like that? You should warn somebody before you whip that sword out!"

Cloud just acted like nothing was out of the ordinary and placed his sword back on his back.

"Sorry, Mikomi. I must have lost control of my swing"

Mikomi was too furious to notice the evil glint he gave to Kakashi.

The scarecrow could have sworn he was giving him the 'I'm watching you' look.

Yuri was laughing at the whole thing.  
"Oh, man. This is rich. I never thought I would see the day where Kakashi's love was in jeopardy over a protective brother. Oh, this had got to be the best day of my life"

No one seemed to hear her since Mikomi's shouting could be heard all over the training ground.

Bakuto plugged his ear.

"God, will that woman ever shut up?"

She managed to stop after her throat got sore from shouting.

Everyone went home that night feeling tired as hell. It was worth it thought since they could learn how to fight with chakra, but it did wear you out quickly.

They all passed out once they entered the living room. There was no way they would manage to get upstairs and not fall flat on their faces.

AVALANCE was happy that they learned how to fight like Mikomi. Not only would they be helpful to her, but this would be a way to finally defeat Sephiroth once and for all.

* * *

**A/N: so AVALANCE can fight like a ninja. I don't if that's a good idea or not, we'll just have to see how things go.**

**Sorry if this sucked, but at least you got another chapter to read. **

**Next time, we'll have another member joining the group: The one and only Jiraiya!!!!!!!**

**I wonder how Mikomi is going to react seeing her long lost godfather. I'm sure it's bound to be ugly since he is a perv.**

**I hope you all have a happy Thanksgiving and have lots of Turkey.**

**And I'll be very thankful if you send in those delightful reviews.**

**JA ne**


	30. Pervy Sage!

Chapter 30: Pervy Sage!

**A/N: Hello everyone! We finally get to see our most beloved pervert in the story. You can't have a Naruto story without the one and only Jiraiya, now can you? Hope this is to your liking and I hope you get a few giggles out of this.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

* * *

_13 years ago_

_Mikomi's outfit was pretty much ruined. Her shorts were covered in dirt while her shirt was torn. She wiped the smudge of dirt off her face as she concentrated on the rubber ball that was in her hand. She had spent the last year and a half trying to pass the second stage of learning the Rasengan. Her training wasn't progressing very well and her hands were covered in bandages. Sweat dripped from her forehead as she sent chakra through her hands. She closed her eyes in concentration and tried to send her chakra through the ball. Her hands burned from the overuse of it, but that didn't matter to her. She just had to pass the second stage, or else she would never be as talented as her dad._

"_Come on. Work"_

_Hers hands felt like they were on fire as she sent more chakra through the troublesome ball._

"_Come on"_

_She was about to give up for the day before she passed out. But when she heard that little 'pop', her eyes shot open. _

_There within the ball was a tiny little hole that she made from her hard labor. She didn't get the ball to explode, but at least she finally made the ball go flat. _

_A huge grin spread across her features as she saw the flat ball. She finally got one step closer to finishing the second stage._

"_Jiraiya!"_

_She ran to her Godfather and mentor to show him her hard work._

"_Look, Jiraiya. I did it"_

_She held the flat ball in front of him._

"_I managed to pop the ball"_

_The old hermit grinned proudly at hid goddaughter._

"_Way to go, Mikomi" He beamed. "It took your father at least a year to get this far and you managed to get it in only half that time."_

_Mikomi jumped up and down._

"_Yay!"_

_Jiraiya pulled out something in the cooler that he brought._

"_Here's a little reward to doing such a great job"_

_He pulled out a popsicle and handed it to her. Her eyes lit up as she grabbed the frozen treat._

"_Good job, Mikomi. I'm really proud of you"_

_Mikomi giggled as she nibbled on her treat._

"_Yummy!" _

_Jiraiya smirked and ate his popsicle as well._

* * *

Present time

Mikomi covered her ears as Naruto kept whining. He survived the second the stage of the exam and had somehow passed the preliminary stage for the final exam. And, since he was going to be in the finals, then that meant that he needed someone to train him for the month.

That was all fine and dandy, except for the fact that Naruto thought that his mentor would be someone in his family or Kakashi.

Kakashi was out of the picture since he was training Sasuke, and family members weren't allowed to interfere with the finals.

Kakashi managed to get a mentor for Naruto, but that's where the whining came in.

It turned out that Kakashi had recommended Ebisu to train Naruto. He was known for being Konohamaru's teacher, but in Mikomi's opinion, he was known to be the biggest prick of the village. He was so judgmental and would always think that he was better than everyone else. He was one of the few people that would give her the cold shoulder for being a Jinchuriki. And to make matters worse, he was nig time pervert. He may have denied it, but Mikomi would always catch hi peeking at the hot springs when he thought no one was looking.

"Nee-chaaaaaaan. Why do I have super perv train me?"

'Super Perv' was Ebisu's nickname that Naruto gave him. Mikomi thought it was fitting since he was a super perv.

"For the last time, Naruto. Kakashi already made the arrangements for him to train you"

"But, Nee-chan. I want you to teach me"

"I already told you, family members aren't allowed to help. Plus, I'm kind of in a dilemma with this seal on me, so I'm S.O.L "

"Then how about Ni-san or Tifa?"

"Cloud is learning how to perform jutus's so he's out of the picture, same with everyone else"

"Yuri?"

"She's teaching everyone"

"Bakuto?"

"Not a Konoha ninja"

He was about to say something else when Mikomi cut him off.

"The answer is no, Naruto. You are going to train with Ebisu and that's final"

Naruto pouted.

"But I don't want to train with him. He creeps me out. I don't want to be with him all by myself"

Mikomi sighed.

"If it makes you feel better, then I'll go with you"

"Really?"

"Yeah"

She covered her face with a pillow.

"Just train with Ebisu without complaint and pretend to listen to what he has to say. This month will pass by before you know it"

Naruto grumbled.

"Fine"

"That's a good boy"

* * *

The next day, the two siblings went to the training spot that Ebisu picked out.

It was, of course, the village hot springs.

"_As I would expect from a pervert"_

Ebisu was standing near the females spot of the springs.

"I'm glad that you made it"

His eyes grew hard as he looked at Mikomi.

"And I see you brought your sister with"

Mikomi returned the glare.

"Oh, go shove it Ebisu. I only came here to make sure you gave Naruto proper training and to make sure you didn't spend the whole time peeping at women"

Ebisu made a face.

"H-how dare you say that! Why would I lower to myself to such a thing as that?!"

"Why would you pick the hot springs as your training spot?"

Ebisu's face went red.

"I'll have you know that I was going to teach your brother how to walk on water and I thought this would be the perfect spot for it"

"There are plenty of lakes all over the village that you could have used"

She gave him the 'you're busted' look.

A tick mark appeared on Ebisu's forehead.

"I-I don't need you to tell me how to train my students! Just stay out of my way and leave me be!"

"whatever"

She headed for the entrance for the female hot spring.

"Just where do you think you're going?"

Mikomi shrugged.

"You said that you were going to train Naruto, so I thought this would be the perfect time for me to take a soak. It won't be a problem since you don't plan on peeking"

She had an evil glint in her eyes as she saw Ebisu struggle to say something.

"_Caught you, super perv"_

She gave him a fake smile.

"Have fun training. And don't you dare take a peek, Naruto"

She gave her brother a dark look. Naruto made a face.

"Please, like I would want to see my sister naked. I'll be scared for life"

"That's what I wanted to hear. Have fun"

She left without another word with Ebisu fuming.

"_Damn you nine tailed fox wench! You ruined my fun for the day! You will pay for this"_

Naruto just gave his mentor a blank stare as he watched Ebisu have an episode.

"Weirdo"

* * *

Up near the Hokage monument, a lone figure stood on the Fourth Hokage's head.

The wind blew through Jiraiya's hair as he looked at his childhood home.

"It sure is great to be back"

A grin spread over his ageing face.

"I wonder how Yuri is doing Hope she didn't have a hard time raising Mikomi"

A perverted grin covered his face.

"I bet she turned into a real beauty! I just hope she's as hot as her mother look"

He jumped from the monument and headed for the one place that he would find his younger cousin.

* * *

Yuri laid on her stomach as she looked through a fashion magazine. She circled the outfits that she wanted to get and picked out ones that she thought would look cute on Mikomi.

Tifa sat next to her and was doing the same thing.

"Your world has so many cute outfits"

Yuri grinned.

"I know. Living in a ninja world does have its advantages not only can you stay in shape with all of the missions you do, but get to wear sexy outfits. "

Denzel and Marlene came in and sat next to Tifa.

"Tifa, where's Onee-chan and Naruto-kun?" Marlene asked.

"I think they went to go see Naruto's Mentor"

"Aww, Onee-chan promised us that she would play today"

"Don't worry, she'll play with you" Yuri said. "Mikomi would never pass up the opportunity to play"

Cloud came in from outside. He had another training session with Bakuto and was completely wiped out. He plopped himself on one of the couches that made the living room and covered his face with a pillow.

"How was training, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

Cloud just groaned.

Yuri got all mushy for some reason.

"Aww, look at him. He trains just as hard as Naruto and Mikomi does." She sniffled a little. "He's become an Uzumaki"

Cloud lifted the pillow from his face and gave the medic a tired glare.

"I'm not in the mood for your hyperness, Yuri. Bug me some other time"

Yuri grinned at the thought of bugging Cloud later.

"Okie dokie"

She went back reading and humming to some random tune.

"OH YURI!!!! I'M HOME!!!!"

Cloud lifted the pillow from his face again.

"Who the hell is that?"

Yuri sprung up from her seat.

"I know who that it!"

She ran to the front door and pulled it open.

She let out a girly scream and hugged Jiraiya tightly.

"Jiraiya!"

"Yuri!"

The two cousins laughed as they enjoyed their reunion.

Jiraiya let his cousin go and looked at her.

"Damn, Yuri. You sure filled out nicely"

Yuri playfully smacked him.

"And you're the still same old pervert"

"Yuri! Who's at the door?" Tifa asked.

Jiraiya had a confused look on his face.

"Who's that?"

Yuri smiled brightly.

"That's Mikomi's friend!"

Jiraiya's eyes went wide.

"Friend? Mikomi made a friend?"

"Yep, she made quite a few friends, and you're going to leave the females alone" She said the last part darkly.

Jiraiya grabbed his heart dramatically.

"You wound me, Yuri. But, since these are Mikomi's friends, then I'll let it slide"

Yuri smiled.

"That's good. Now come on in so I can introduce you"

She grabbed him arm and dragged him into the living room.

"Guys, I want you to meet my cousin, Jiraiya. He's Mikomi and Naruto's godfather. Jiraiya, I want you to meet Tifa Lockheart, Denzel, Marlene, and Cloud Strife"

Everyone waved except for Cloud who was fast asleep.

Yuri went over to him and smacked him upside the head. Cloud woke up with a start and glared at Yuri.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"We have company so say hello"

Cloud looked at Jiraiya tiredly and waved at him.

"Hi' he said tiredly and went back to hiding his face with a pillow.

Jiraiya was awe struck when he caught sight of Cloud. He thought he was looking at Minato for a moment.

Yuri gave him a look that told him she knew what he was thinking.

"Mikomi has other friends, but they're off doing who knows what, so you'll see them later"

At the mention of his goddaughter, Jiraiya's mind was away from Cloud's looks.

"Speaking of Mikomi, where is she?"

"She's helping Naruto with his training. He's in the finals for the Chunin exams"

Jiraiya's eyes soften at the mention of his Godson.

"He's that old already?"

"Yep, it's amazing how time flies. They should be back later if you want to see them"

"Nah, that's ok. I'm just going to go around the village and see how much has changed. I'll be back before diner. My bedroom is still here, right?"

"Yep. Still in the same state you left it"

"That's good to know"

He went back outside and waved before he left.

Tifa was beyond confused.

"What was that all about?"

Yuri sighed.

"It's a long story"

"I've got time"

Yuri looked at Cloud.

"Are you going to listen, Cloud?"

"Like I have a choice" was his muffled reply.

Yuri nodded and got into story mode.

"Well….it all began when …."

* * *

Jiraiya roamed around his home. A lot of things had changed since he last entered this village. But there was one place that he was sure was still the same.

"The hot springs"

He ran off to his most 'sacred' place in hopes of finding new material for his books.

* * *

Naruto wasn't getting anywhere with his training. Since Orochimaru put that seal on him, he couldn't control his chakra well and therefore, couldn't do the walking on water drill properly.

"_Man, this sucks! Why can't I walk on the water?"_

He saw Ebisu peeking through one of the springs that Mikomi wasn't in.

"_And Super Perv isn't doing anything. Maybe if I yell pervert, then that'll get his attention"_

He was about to do that, when he suddenly caught sight of Jiraiya peeking through another spring.

He made a funny noise that caught Jiraiya and Ebisu's attention before he fell in the water again.

* * *

Mikomi was enjoying her time in the springs. She managed to get over her phobia of bathing in public places and was able to enjoy herself.

She sighed as she rested against one of the rocks that covered the pool.

She could hear Naruto falling into the water from outside.

"_Poor Naruto. I bet Ebisu hasn't told him the proper way of walking on water. 'Sigh' maybe I should teach him. I know family members aren't allowed, but what the Hokage doesn't know, won't hurt him"_

She dunked her head in the water to get her hair wet before she resurfaced. She was pretty much alone in the pool, but it was better that way. She may have gotten over bathing in public places, but she wasn't over bathing with other women.

She heard her brother screaming and figured he fell again. But the next thing her said made her eyes snapped open.

"Hey you Pervy Sage! Just what the hell are you doing?!"

She could hear girls screaming as they ran out of the baths.

Mikomi just rolled her eyes.

"Girls"

She was going to just stay put and enjoy her bath, but Naruto had other plans.

"Nee-chan! There's a pervert peeking into the springs! Run for it!"

She really didn't need her brother's protection, but at least her cared for her.

Deciding that she should teach this pervert a lesson, she got out and went to the changing booth to get her clothes.

"I just hate perverts" she said to herself as she put her top on.

After she slipped her shoes on, she marched outside and saw her brother pointing at the said pervert.

She went up to him and kicked him in the head.

"Ow! What the hell?!"

"Now listen here, pervert. Just because these hot springs are open to the public doesn't mean they're open to peeping toms like you. Now get your ass out of here before I-"

She caught her breath when she saw the pervert turned his head and revealed to be her Godfather.

Jiriaya's eyes bugged out when he saw her.

"Mikomi?!"

"Jiraiya?!"

They both let out a girly scream and pointed at each other.

* * *

Jiraiya was ticked off that he ruined his data gathering. He made all of the girls go away and now he was calling his sister for help.

"_Just what does he hope his sister will do?"_

He got his answer with a kick in the head.

"Ow! What the hell?!"

"Now listen here, pervert. Just because these hot Springs are open to the public doesn't mean –"

Jiraiya knew that voice. He would recognize it anywhere. That was the voice of his goddaughter.

"_Mikomi?"_

He whipped his head around and found out that it was indeed Mikomi. She really grew up since the last time that he saw her. She was no longer a little girl anymore. She was a full grown woman, with a well filled out chest.

"_Oh my god. She's almost as big as Tsunade and Yuri!"_

Mikomi's eyes bugged out when he saw him.

"Jiraiya?!"

"Mikomi?!"

They both screamed like girls and pointed to each other.

* * *

Mikomi was at a loss for words as she looked at her godfather.

It had been 13 years since he left to gather information on who knows what.

He looked the same as he left, with the exception of his hair getting longer.

Mikomi kept gapping like a fish as she still pointed at him.

Jiraiya was pretty much the same. He still couldn't believe how big she had gotten. She almost looked like Kushina when she was her age.

Naruto was getting agitated with being ignored.

"Hello! Are you forgetting someone!?"

They both looked at Naruto dumbly.

Naruto crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his foot.

"Just what the hell are you going to do about my training, Pervy Sage?!"

Jiraiya finally realized that this was Naruto. It was so obvious that this was Minato's son. The blonde hair and blue eyes were a dead giveaway.

Mikomi snapped out of it and saw that Ebisu was out cold.

"What the hell happened here?"

"That Pervy sage knocked Ebisu out so he wouldn't get caught peeping. Now what am I going to do about my training?"

Mikomi was mentally glad that Ebisu got his ass kicked. She never liked the man to begin with. But he was Naruto's mentor, and he wasn't going to teach him anything while he was out.

She looked at Jiraiya for a moment then back at Naruto. The light bulb went off in her head as she came up with an idea.

She had a fox like grin cover her face as she looked at her Godfather.

Jiraiya didn't like that look at all.

"Why are you looking at me that way?"

Mikomi didn't say anything and just walked up to him. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him to her face.

"Listen here, Jiraiya. Since you pretty much killed my brother's mentor, you have gained responsibility of his training"

Jiraiya was about to protest but Mikomi pinched his lips shut.

"Don't try to weasel your way out of this. I'm still pretty mad at you for leaving me the way you did. If you do this, I'll forgive you and I'll let you stay at the house. Do we have a deal?"

Jiraiya could see the hurt in her eyes.

It would seem that she was still suffering from when he left her to gather information on things and wouldn't tell her the reasons why.

Mikomi let him go and waited for his reaction. He was going to train Naruto. He promised Minato that he would train him when he was older, but he wasn't going to let Mikomi know that.

"No way in hell woman!"

He gave her a wink that told her otherwise and ran off.

Naruto was having plans of his own on having the Pervy sage train him and he took his little run off as a bad sign.

"Hey you Pervy sage! Get back here! What are you going to do about my training?!"

He ran after him and left his sister behind.

Mikomi looked at Ebisu for a moment and kicked him in the side.

"You'll feel that later, you stuck up know it all"

She left him behind and went to see her godmother.

Maybe Yuri would know why Jiraiya was suddenly here.

* * *

Cloud was really at his wits end as he had to listen to Yuri singing.

Bakuto was pretty much at the point of killing himself as he listened to her singing 'Afternoon Delight'

Yuri was spread out across one of the couches as she sang.

"_Rubbing sticks and stones together make the sparks ignite._

_And the thought of loving is getting so exciting._

_Sky rockets in flight._

_Afternoon Delight._

_Afternoon Delight."_

She batted her eyelashes at the guys to see if she could get a reaction.

Cloud just looked at her dully. He was too tired to argue with her right now.

"Knock it off, Yuri"

Yuri sighed and just went to her next target: Cid.

"Hey, Cid. You wanna hear my next song?"

Cid covered his head with a pillow.

"I'm sorry, Cid's not here now. Please leave a message and he'll get back to you as soon as he can. Beep"

Yuri pouted.

"You guys are no fun!"

"No. You're just annoying as hell" Bakuto said tiredly.

"You're just jealous to be in the presence of a sexy babe as me"

She strikes a pose on the couch.

"I'm gonna hurl" Bakuto said.

Yuri threw a pillow at him.

"You're so mean! Komi-chan would never act that way with me!"

"Mikomi just puts up with you" Cid said.

Just then, Mikomi came in and spotted Yuri in one of her poses.

"Yuri, how many times do I have to tell you to stop pretending you're a playboy model?"

Yuri's eyes lit up when she saw her favorite goddaughter.

"Komi-chan!"

She jumped off the couch and glomped her.

"Oh, I'm so glad you're back! The guys were being mean when I was singing to them!"

Mikomi just patted her awkwardly just so she would let her go.

"I'm so sorry to hear that, Yuri" she said dryly.

"By the way, did you know that Jiraiya is here in the village?"

"Yep! He came here first to see if he would find you here. Did you see him?"

"Oh I saw him alright. I found him peeking into the women's Hot Springs …while I was in it"

Cloud's head shot up as he heard this.

"What?!"

"Relax, Cloud. He didn't see anything, and put your Buster Sword away" she indicated when she was him pull his sword out.

Yuri sweat dropped.

"Oh, man. He's only here for a day and he's already in trouble"

"What kind of godfather peeks at his own goddaughter?" Cid asked.

"Mine apparently, but I'm sure it was by accident. He's not that sick. He only goes there to do 'research' for his books"

"Books?"

"Yeah, books. You know the one that Kakashi reads? That's what he writes"

Bakuto's face went paled as he heard that.

He remembered when he accidentally read a copy of that series.

_Flashback_

_Bakuto prowled around the bookstore. He was bored and he thought a book would help him out._

_As he looked through the aisles, he spotted a certain orange book._

"_This must be the series that Kakashi is always reading" he said to himself._

_He held it up and looked at the cover._

"_I wonder if it's any good. It must be if Kakashi is always reading it"_

_He opened the cover to read the first page._

"_This can't be that ba-OH MY GOD!!!!!"_

_He read only the first sentence and saw that it talked about nothing but sex._

_He tossed the book away and ran out of the store._

"_Who the hell would right such a thing?!"_

_End Flashback_

Bakuto's eye twitched as he looked at Mikomi.

Now he knew who would write such trash and it just had to be someone who was related to his rival.

Mikomi looked at him strangely.

"What?"

"Nothing" he muttered.

He pulled out a list from his pocket that read 'Things to do before I die'

He wrote underneath the sentence that said 'Smother stupid Fox with a Pillow' that said 'Kill the man who wrote the Make Out series'.

He tucked it away and made preparations for his plans.

* * *

Nobody really talked that much at dinner, or rather; Mikomi didn't want them to talk. She knew that they would be talking about Jiraiya and she just knew that it would be bad things. Cloud was pissed as it was that Jiraiya 'peeked' at her, but then again, he would react to any guy just looking at her period.

Naruto still wasn't back from his training yet, and that bothered Mikomi a little.

Yuri got tired of everyone being quiet, so she decided to sing something.

"_Oh I'm too sexy for my shir-"_

Mikomi shoved a rice ball in her mouth.

"Shush" She said.

Yuri glared at her and swallowed her food. At least it was Yumiboshi flavored.

The front door opened.

"Nee-chan, I'm home! And I brought someone with!"

Mikomi got up from her seat and went to see that Naruto brought none other than Jiraiya with him.

Jiraiya rubbed his head nervously as he looked at his goddaughter.

"Eh Heh Heh. Hey Mikomi. Long time no see"

Mikomi just gave him a blank look. That was one way to make Jiraiya uneasy.

Yuri ran out of the room and tackled her cousin in a head lock.

"Jiraiya! It's so good to see you again! You have to meet the rest of Mikomi's friends"

She pulled him by his hair, which showed that she was mad that he peeked at Mikomi at the springs.

She shoved him into the kitchen and made him the center of attention.

"You already met, Tifa, Cloud and Marlene. I want you meet Cid Highwind, Yuffie Kisaragi, Vincent Valentine, Barret Wallace, Red Xlll, Cat Sith and Denzel"

She directed his attention to Bakuto and Yugito.

"And these are Mikomi's friends from the Village Hidden within the Clouds. That's Bakuto Masaki, and Yugito Nii. They're here to represent their village. They're also Jinchuriki" she said the last part to him quietly.

Jiraiya waved to them.

"Hiya. I guess you already know that I'm Jiraiya then"

His answer was everyone pointed their weapons at him.

He held his hands up defensively.

"Oh, come on. If this is about what happened earlier, I had no idea that Mikomi was at the springs, I swear!"

That really didn't help him at all since they still held their weapons up.

Naruto didn't know what was going on, so he just decided to show Denzel and Marlene his new technique he learned today.

Yuri motioned for Jiraiya and Mikomi to go into the living room.

"What is it Yuri?"

Yuri went all serious for a moment, which wasn't good.

"We had a run in with Orochimaru" she said

"I figured as much since I saw his seal on Naruto"

Jiraiya looked at Mikomi.

"I take it he put one on you as well?"

Mikomi looked at the ground.

"Unfortunately" she said.

Jiraiya cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, let me see the seal"

Mikomi looked at Yuri for a moment to see her nod.

She summoned up her charka and had the nine tailed fox's seal appear. A few seconds later, Orochimaru's seal appeared.

Chakra covered Jiraiya's hand.

"Raise your hands up for a second"

She did what she was told and looked at him nervously.

"_This can't be good"_

He slammed his hand into her gut.

"Five pronged seal release!"

She went flying and slammed into a wall.

"What the hell?"

Tifa came out and saw Mikomi clutching her stomach.

"What happened to Mikomi?"

"I just removed that nasty seal the Orochimaru placed on her. Now she should be able to use her chakra properly"

Mikomi held back the urge to throw up.

"_God that hurt"_

She sat up and waited for the pain to pass before she tried to talk to Usagi.

"_Hey, Usagi. You there?"_

She heard movement before she hear that familiar voice.

"Mikomi! Oh thank god! I was locked up in this cold dark place that was filled with nothing but bunnies! It was horrible!"

She was glad that she was finally able to hear her Biiju. She was getting really lonely.

She stood up and tested her chakra out.

She formed a Rasengan in her hand without any trouble.

"Well it looks like you can use your chakra properly" Jiraiya said.

Mikomi suddenly got an idea and looked at Jiraiya evilly.

"Uh oh"

She ran at him and slammed her Rasengan into his chest.

He went flying and went out the window and into the front yard.

Mikomi went up to the window and smirked.

"That's what you get for earlier, you damn pervert"

She left him outside and went back to her dinner.

* * *

The next day

Jiraiya stood in front of Mikomi.

He had to beg her to let him stay at her house since he didn't want to pay for a hotel.

It wasn't working real well since everyone was against having a pervert like him around the kids.

He fell to his hands and knees and begged like a dog.

"Please, Mikomi. Let me stay. I'll pay rent, just let me stay"

Mikomi looked as he groveled at the ground.

She looked at her friends, then at Naruto. An idea popped into her head.

"I'll let you stay…only if you train Naruto for the exams. Since you pretty much knocked his old mentor out, you have to take over. Deal?"

He nodded like an idiot.

"Good. Now get to work. Naruto has only a month and I want him to pass these exams"

She pushed him outside and made him go train Naruto.

"Are you really going to let that pervert stay?" Cid asked.

Mikomi shrugged.

"Sure. He's not that bad and he is my Godfather. And he's the only one who keeps Yuri in line"

At the mention of that, Cid was all up for Jiraiya staying. Everyone was starting to get annoyed with Yuri so they needed someone who would calm her down.

Mikomi looked out the window to see Naruto dragging Jiraiya away to some unknown place.

"Oh, Jiraiya. You are in for a rude awakening"

"He's doomed"

And that was how AVALANCE gained the newest member to their team.

* * *

**A/N: Now Jiraiya has made his appearance. It wasn't the most prettiest, but then again ,it never is with him. I hope this was to your liking. It was hard to think this chapter up in such short notice.**

**The next two chapters are going to be holiday specials. I hope you're up for some winter wonderland fun. I know I will. Send those reviews and tell me what you think.**

**Ja ne**


	31. Snow Day!

Chapter 31: Snow Day!

**A/N: Hey everyone. Like I said, the next few chapters will be holiday specials to show off that holiday spirit. I have yet to think of a Christmas idea, since one: Japan doesn't really celebrate Christmas. And two: I don't know how ninja's celebrate Christmas.**

**So far now, we'll just have a chapter dedicated to Naruto, Denzel and Marlene since we don't see them that much. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

* * *

If there was one thing that Cloud liked about living in Konoha, it was the fact that he could sleep in late without worrying about work. He didn't have to get up early to make deliveries and he didn't have to sleep in a god awful bed. Being on this little vacation was paying off real nicely. There was no down side to living here.

"Ni-san!"

Except for that.

Naruto burst into his room and started jumping on his bed.

"Ni-san! Wake up! Wake up!"

Every time he hit the bed, he would make Cloud jump a little. The blonde covered his head with his pillow and pretended that Naruto wasn't there. But that was kind of hard since he kept shouting.

"Ni-san, guess what?"

"What Naruto, what?" he asked through his pillow.

"It's snowing!"

Cloud lifted his pillow slightly to look at Naruto. The boy must have been dreaming if he thought that it snowed in the land of Fire. He wasn't a citizen of this village, and even he knew that.

Putting the pillow over his face again, he tried to go back to sleep.

"You must have dreamt it, Naruto. It doesn't snow in Konoha, you should know that"

"But it is snowing, Ni-san. Look outside"

"I'll pass. I'd rather sleep than look at imaginative snow outside"

"But Ni-san"

"Good night, Naruto"

He turned over and pulled the covers up to his face.

Naruto jumped off the bed and crossed his arms over his chest.

Cloud thought that he would leave just like that, but instead, he heard his bedroom window being open.

"_What the hell?"_

He suddenly felt really cold from the air coming outside.

"Naruto, close the window"

Naruto snickered as he stood next to his head and held something over his head.

"Rise and shine, Ni-san!"

The feeling of something cold and wet hit his face as Naruto dropped the foreign object on him.

Cloud shot up like a rocket and wiped the stuff off his face.

"Jesus! That's cold!"

He wiped the last bit of whatever Naruto dropped on him. He looked at his hand to see a small pile of snow melting in his hand.

"Where the hell did this come from?"

Naruto jumped back on the bed and started up his bouncing. He had an armful of snow in his hands.

"See? I told you it was snowing!"

Cloud looked through his open window to see that it really was snowing outside.

"_What are the odds of that?"_

He looked at Naruto just in time to see him raise the pile of snow he had on him.

His blue eyes narrowed into mere slits as he watched the little dare devil.

"Don't you even dare" he hissed.

Naruto just laughed and dropped the snow on his older brother.

Cloud was instantly out of bed as the cold liquid hit him like a ton of bricks.

Naruto laughed his head off as he watched Cloud get the snow out of his T-shirt.

Cloud glared at him when he finally got the last of the nasty stuff out of his shirt.

Naruto stopped his laughing and looked terrified for a moment.

"Naruto" Cloud used his finger to motion him to come to him.

"Come…here…"

Naruto didn't like the evil aura that was emanating from Cloud. He picked up a bit of snow that was still on his bed and threw it at Cloud.

"Here, Ni-san. Catch"

He ran off as when it hit Cloud in the face.

"NARUTO!!!!!"

Cloud ran out of his room and chased the boy downstairs.

"Get back here!"

Naruto was mentally screaming while he laughed.

"_Oh man, I'm so dead!"_

He ran outside, not caring that he wasn't wearing the proper clothing for the weather and jumped in the snow.

He tried to hide himself in a giant pile so Cloud wouldn't find him. It didn't really help, since his spiky blonde hair stood out.

Cloud ran outside and glared at the yellow mop of hair.

"Get your ass out of there right now, Naruto"

Naruto poked his head out to see Cloud fuming.

He grinned when he saw that Cloud was slowing inching back to the house. He wasn't wearing the proper clothing for cold weather, and he was suffering greatly for that.

An idea popped into Naruto's head.

"Alright, Ni-san. I'll come back inside" He said as he secretly performed handsigns.

He stood up and held his hands up in defense.

"You win, Ni-san"

Cloud narrowed his gaze at him. He didn't like that grin he wore.

Naruto laughed and dove back into the snow.

"Sucker!"

Cloud didn't know what he was talking about until one of Naruto's clones pushed him into the snow.

Naruto was laughing his ass off as he watched Cloud sit up with a pile of snow sticking to his hair.

Cloud shook the snow off and glared at Naruto.

"Come here you little brat!"

Naruto screamed like a girl as Cloud dove for him. He jumped out of the way at the last minute and sent Cloud sliding in the snow. The Chocobo head spit out a mouth full of snow. Naruto laughed and pounced on him.

"See, Ni-san? It really was snowing"

A tick mark appeared on the older blondes head.

"Why you little!"

He put the boy in a head lock and gave him a noogie. Naruto yelped in pain as Cloud's cold, rough hand rubbed his scalp.

"Ow! Ni-san! You're gonna scalp me alive!"

"That's what I'm planning to do" Cloud said darkly.

Naruto screamed and tried to get out of his brother's grasp, but to no avail.

Cloud laughed evilly as he extracted his revenge on the younger boy.

* * *

Mikomi was fast asleep in her room when she heard the commotion.

She groaned as she covered her eyes with her arm. Cat Sith slept in her room for the night and was fast sleep on her pillow.

"What the hell is going on?"

She lazily got out of bed and wished that she didn't. She suddenly felt cold as her bare feet touched the ground.

"Man, its cold out!"

She jumped back in bed and pulled the covers over her head.

Cat Sith was woken up from the movement and stretched lazily.

"What's with all the commotion?"

Mikomi poked her head from the sheets.

"It's freezing cold out" she said.

She ducked her head back within her warm bed.

"It's never this cold in Konoha. I don't know what's going on"

Denzel and Marlene ran into her room and climbed on her bed.

"Onee-chan!" Marlene cried. "Wake up!"

"It's snowing!" Denzel added.

Mikomi reluctantly stuck her head out. Her hair was a mess and was all tangled.

"Snowing? It doesn't snow in Konoha. Well, it rarely does I should say"

"But it is snowing, look"

Denzel jumped off her bed and pulled the shades open.

Mikomi covered her eyes from being exposed to the light so quickly.

When her eyes adjusted, she saw that it indeed was snowing. The whole scenery was completely white.

"Well what do you know? It really is snowing"

She wrapped a blanket around her and went to the window.

She hadn't seen snow since she was 5 years old. It was amazing that she was seeing it after so long.

She spotted Cloud and Naruto outside. It seemed like they were having a mini snow ball fight with each other, or rather, it was Naruto who was throwing snow balls and trying to avoid Cloud as he ran.

"_I never knew Cloud liked playing in the snow that much. But then again, I'm sure he likes things that I don't even know about"_

"_You have no idea" _Aerith said.

Mikomi smiled as she heard the Cetra's voice.

"_Hey, Aerith. Long time no see. I take it you're here to join the festivities?"_

"_I thought it would be nice to drop by and see what was going on. I guess Cloud is having fun"_

Mikomi held back a giggle as she watched Naruto tackled Cloud into the snow and covered him up.

"_It would seem so. I guess even he has a childish side to him"_

She wiped the frost that had covered her widow and regretted doing so.

"Cold!"

She dove back into bed and buried herself within the pile of blankets that were on her bed.

"Onee-chan, don't go back to bed!"

Marlene pulled the covers off of her.

"It's time to get up. Don't you want to play in the snow?"

Mikomi shivered as the covers were pulled off of her.

"Not really, no"

She pulled the covers over her again.

"I want to go to sleep"

Cat Sith was getting affected by the cold and crawled under the covers.

"Goodness me, it's freezing!"

The little robot shivered under the blankets.

"See? Even Cat Sith doesn't want to get up"

She rolled over.

"Come back in a few minutes and maybe I'll play"

The two children pouted.

"Onee-chan" Denzel whined.

Mikomi just covered her head with a pillow.

Marlene got an idea and whispered it to Denzel.

"Good idea"

They quietly ran out of the room and got the one person that would get Mikomi out of bed.

* * *

"Oh, 'Komi-chan!"

Mikomi groaned as she heard the unmistakable voice of Yuri.

The medic kicked her door down and dove on her bed.

"Rise and Shine, sweetie! It's snowing in the lovely village of Konoha!"

Mikomi just glared at her through the pillow.

"Leave me alone, Yuri. And fix my door"

Yuri just pulled the covers off the bed and exposed her to the cold air. Since she was wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and a tank top for pajamas, she felt the cold head on.

She immediately curled up into a ball and shivered.

"Yuri! Give me back my blanket!"

Yuri stood on her bed and held it out of her reach.

"Ah, ah, ah, Mikomi. It's time for you to get up and enjoy this rare treat that Mother Nature has so graciously given us"

"I don't have to do squat!" Mikomi retorted. "I'm tired and I want to sleep. Just leave me alone"

She held Cat Sith close to her in hopes of getting warm from the cat's fur.

Yuri sighed and looked at Denzel and Marlene, who stood near the doorway. Both children wore sad expressions on their faces when they saw that Mikomi wasn't going to get up.

The sight of them pulled at Yuri's heart strings. It reminded her of when Naruto and Mikomi would give her that look when they were little.

She turned her attention back to Mikomi and gave her a stern look.

"Mikomi. You get out of that bed right now, or so help me, I will do it myself"

Mikomi gave her a tired glare.

"Go ahead and try"

That was all she needed.

Picking her up by the back of her shorts, Yuri lifted Mikomi off the bed. The young kunochi yelped and held on to Cat Sith for dear life.

"Yuri! Put me down!"

Yuri had an evil grin plastered on her face.

"I don't think so, honey"

She went to the window and opened it, letting the cold air come in.

"What are you doing? It's freezing out!"

"You're going to go play with the kids today honey buns. Or you're going to pay"

She swung her a little towards the open window. Mikomi yelped a little like a kid.

"Ok! Ok! I'll play! Just put me down, please?"

Yuri grinned.

"Ok"

She swung her outside and listened to her scream as she fell from the second story down into a snow drift.

* * *

"Get back here!"

Cloud was still chasing Naruto outside.

He normally would have went inside by now, but his stabbed pride was preventing it from happen.

Naruto laughed as he hit Cloud with another snowball.

"See, Ni-san? Isn't this fun?"

His hands were all frost bitten from not being covered up, as was the rest of his body. Cloud was pretty much the same.

Just as he was about to throw his next snowball, he heard a high pitched scream.

"What the heck is that?"

Next thing he knew, Mikomi was on top of him, and they both got snow in their pajamas.

Mikomi shot up like a rocket and immediately got the snow out of her top.

"Fuck! Shit! Oh god damn that's cold!"

She jumped up and down.

Cat Sith jumped out of the snow and landed on Naruto's head.

I'm not programmed for cold weather!"

Naruto looked at his sister and went beat red when he saw his sister.

"N-nee-Chan? Why are you outside wearing that?"

Mikomi crossed her arms over her chest. Her top got get from the snow and it was white.

Cloud adverted his stare from her.

Mikomi glared up at her window. Yuri poked her head out and was waving at them.

"Yuri! What the hell was that for?! I asked you to put me down, not throw me out the window!"

Yuri laughed 'innocently'.

"Opps, You never said to put you down in your room, I thought you meant 'down' like as in downstairs. Sorry"

"No you're not!"

"You're right. I'm not"

A tick mark appeared over her forehead. She bent down and made a snow ball.

"You witch!"

She threw it at her, only for her to duck her head and have it land in her room. The sound of something breaking could be heard.

"Oh dear, it looks like you broke your lamp" Yuri said. "Looks like you'll to do without electricity for a while"

Mikomi grew mad.

"Yuri!"

She just waved at her and closed the window.

Mikomi swore under her breath as she continued to hold herself. She saw the two blondes looking at her.

"What? Never seen a girl freeze her ass off?"

"Not in her pajamas, no" Naruto said.

"You might want to go inside or else your boobs will get hard, Nee-chan"

Mikomi's mouth hung open. He did not just say that to her.

"Naruto" she growled.

She picked up some snow and started throwing it at him.

"You *smack* do not *smack* say that *smack* to your sister! *Smack smack*"

Naruto scream as he had to now not only avoid Cloud, but Mikomi as well.

The two of them continued to throw snow at him and shouting things at him.

* * *

10 Minutes later.

Denzel and Marlene were all wrapped up in their snow gear. Naruto said that he would play with them in the snow while Cloud and Mikomi recuperated from the frost bite that they suffered from.

He laughed nervously as he looked at them. They both sat on the couch covered in piles of blankets. Even Cat Sith was shivering from the cold.

"Eh Heh Heh. Are you both still mad at me?"

They both gave him the finger as they glared at him.

"Aww, come on you guys. It was funny"

"Getting snow shoved down my shirt isn't my idea of fun" Cloud retorted.

"Or being thrown out your bedroom and landing in a snow drift" Mikomi added when she spotted Yuri.

Since she wasn't going to play with Denzel and Marlene, Yuri decided to take her place. She pretty much disserved it for throwing her goddaughter out the window.

Jiraiya snickered at all of this. He thought it was pretty funny that Mikomi would explode on Naruto for his little boob comment.

"_Oh man. He really is like his father. I'm going to have a lot of fun training him"_

Mikomi had a feeling that Jiraiya was thinking about her little top moment and she didn't like it. She threw a pillow at him and watched as it him square in the face.

"Don't be thinking dirty thoughts about me, Jiraiya"

Jiraiya pouted and left to go work on his books.

Yuri put the last of her clothing on and looked at the two grumpy figures on the couch.

"Are you sure you don't want to join us? It'll be fun"

They both growled at her.

"I'll take that as a no then"

She ushered the children outside to enjoy the winter wonderland.

* * *

"Woo Hoo!"

Naruto flopped in the snow and made snow angels.

Even though he still had frost bites all over his body, he was still glad to be outside with the proper clothing on.

Denzel threw some snow up in the air and ran around the falling particles.

Naruto got up and looked at the two kids.

"Hey! Let's build a snowman!"

Marlene jumped up and down.

"Yay! A snowman!"

Denzel was already making the head.

Yuri was way ahead of him and was already putting the bottom together.

Naruto helped Marlene with the middle since she couldn't pack the snow well by herself.

Yuri smiled as she watched the kids put the snowman together. They looked so cute with their faces red from the cold. Snowflakes stuck to their hats as it kept on snowing.

When they finished putting the snowman together, it looked a little lop sided.

Marlene took her scarf off and tried to wrap it around the snowman's neck, but failed since it was too tall for her.

Naruto picked her up.

"Here you go, Marlene"

"Thank you, Ni-san"

She wrapped the scarf around the snowman's neck.

"He needs a face" Denzel said.

Yuri held out bits of coal and a carrot nose.

"Here we go, now he won't have a blank face"

Denzel had to jump a little to reach for the face but he managed to make the snowman look like he was smiling.

They all stepped back to admire their work.

"Something's missing" Naruto said.

He pulled off his headband and put it on the snowman.

"There we go. Now it's a snow ninja"

Yuri's mind went off into memory lane as she looked at the snow ninja.

Flashback

A 4 year old Mikomi giggled as her dad held her up to put the eyes on the snowman.

"Look, daddy. He's smiling"

Minato grinned.

"Yes he is sweetie. But it seems like he's missing something"

Mikomi looked confused.

"Like what?"

Minato pulled off his headband and tied around the snowman's head.

"There we go. Now he's a snow ninja"

Mikomi giggled as she clapped her hands.

"Yay!"

End Flashback

Yuri smiled contently.

"Mikomi should really be enjoying this. It never snows in Konoha"

Naruto made a face.

"Good luck with that. She won't come out since you threw her out of her window. And Ni-san won't either since I threw snow on him. I guess we're S.O.L"

Yuri rubbed her chin.

"Or, maybe we're not"

"Huh?"

A foxy grin spread over her face.

"I have an idea"

* * *

Mikomi had finally gotten warm from her little ordeal outside.

She looked out the window to see her brother making a snowman with Denzel and Marlene. Just seeing them reminded her of when she would make snowmen with her parents.

She sighed as she rested her head on the arm of the couch.

"What are you so sad about?" Cloud asked.

He finally got warm as well, but he still had a little frost bite.

Mikomi propped her head on the armrest.

"Nothing. Just thinking of when I used to make snowmen with my parents and how much I miss that feeling"

"If you miss it so much, then go outside"

"No way. I've had my fair share of playing in the snow for today, thank you very much"

Cloud just shrugged. He really didn't care right now.

"Help!"

Denzel and Marlene ran inside.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked.

"It's horrible! Naruto's trapped!" Marlene cried.

"What?"

"We were building a snow fort and the roof fell on him. He's trapped!"

Mikomi ran outside.

"Naruto!"

Sure, she was still mad at him, but she wasn't going to let him die like this.

Cloud groaned.

"God, that kid is going to be the death of me"

He simply let Marlene pull him outside to save the knuckle head from his doom.

* * *

Mikomi looked everywhere for Naruto but couldn't find him.

"Where is he?"

Naruto suddenly came out of nowhere with a snowball in hand.

"Surprise!"

He threw the snowball and laughed when it hit her in the face.

"What the?"

Naruto pounced on her and made them fall into the snow.

Cloud came out just in time to see this happening.

"Wait a minute"

Yuri got him from behind and pushed him into the snow.

"Ha ha! We got you!"

The two young adults glared at their attackers.

"You little!"

They made snowballs of their own and threw them at the kids.

'Woo Hoo! Now this is more like it. Show Naruto what happens when you mess with the Jinchuriki!"

She packed some ice within her next snowball and grinned when it hit Naruto in the back.

He fell down like a ton of bricks from the impact.

"Nee-chan! Don't make ice balls! They hurt!"

"This is war, Naruto. You don't tell anyone what they should use as a weapon because it hurts, right Cloud?"

Cloud threw a snowball as big as a bowling ball up and down in his hand.

"Right"

Naruto yelped and hid behind Yuri.

"So it's war then, eh?"

She made a snowball of her own and packed it with ice.

"In that case…."

She threw the snowball at the house and had it hit the window.

"Hey everyone! Snowball fight!"

Cid poked his head out the window.

"God damn it, Yuri. Nobody wants to play your silly games, and stop throwing snow at the house"

Yuri just threw a snowball at Cid and hit him in the face.

He wiped the snow off his face.  
"Alright, that's it!"

He jumped out of the window and started throwing snow at everyone.

Mikomi laughed as she dodged the pilot.

"Hey Tifa! Yuffie! Yugito!"

The girls looked out the window to see Mikomi waving them outside. They got the picture and came out with Barret and Vincent in tow.

Marlene ran to Barret and jumped into his arms.

"Daddy! Daddy! We're having a snowball fight!"

"Yeah, and everyone is gaining up on us!" Naruto added.

"Are they now?"

Barret placed Marlene down and created a snowball that was as big as his head.

"Nobody gains up on my daughter. You guys are going down!"

He threw it at everyone, not really caring who side they were on.

"Duck!"

Everyone jumped and fell to the ground to avoid the snowball. Cid was unfortunate and got hit with it head on and fell down.

"God damn it, Barret!"

He got up and threw some more snow.

Mikomi laughed as she dodged getting hit by Yuri and Denzel.

She ran behind Cloud and used him as a shield when she couldn't get away fast enough. Cloud rounded on her and threw snow at her.

"Ah, woman down! Woman down!"

Tifa got behind Cloud and tackled him to the ground. She laughed as she sat on him.

Yuffie and Yugito covered her and poured snow on them from the trees.

Red Xlll ran through the battle field with Cat Sith shouting battle cries.

"Tally ho!"

Yuri got fancy with her attacks and performed hand signs.

"Ice Style! Tsunami Avalanche!"

She snow around her rose like a tsunami.

"Oh shit"

Everyone got hit with the snow wave and was buried within the snow.

Yuri laughed triumphantly.

"No one can mess with the ice diva of Konoha! You are within my domain now!"

Mikomi and Yugito poked their heads out of the snow.

"We won't be able to win with her whipping out tricks like that" Yugito said.

Mikomi agreed.

"We need to take her down and fast"

She grinned evilly.

"And I know just the person for that"

Yugito knew where she was going and went into action.

"Oh no! Help! Help!"

"Yugito! Hang on; I'll get you out of this snow!"

Both girls pretended that they were trapped within the snow and waited for the reaction of a certain dragon.

Sure enough, Bakuto came outside through the second story window and landed in front of the girls.

"Oh, Bakuto. Thank goodness you're here" Yugito said with 'relief'

"Yuri hit us with this snow Jutsu and we're all trapped. You have to help us"

Bakuto didn't say anything and just looked at Yuri darkly.

"No one attacks my girlfriend"

Yuri gave out a haughty laugh. (A/N: kind of like Shantotto)

"Well, well, well. It seems I have a new toy to play with. You will suffer the wrath of the Ice Diva!"

Bakuto pulled out his swords.

"Bring it on, old hag"

Mikomi dead panned when she heard that. If there was one thing that no one said to Yuri, it was 'old hag'. Whenever someone called her that, they never lived to tell the tale.

An evil aura emanated from Yuri.

"Old hag you say?"

Her eyes turned to the coldest blue every.

"I'll show an old hag!"

Chakra radiated off of her.

"uh oh" Mikomi muttered.

She dove back into the snow and got away as far as she could from the fight that was about to take place, dragging Yugito with her.

Cloud managed to get out of the snow with Naruto in tow.

Anime tears ran down his face as he held onto Cloud.

"You saved me! You're my hero!"

Cloud just sighed.

Mikomi kept pulling Yugito away from Yuri and Bakuto.

"Run! Run away!"

"What's going on, Nee-chan?"

"Bakuto called Yuri an old hag and now she's going to kill him!"

Naruto paled at that. He knew what happened when she was called an old hag.

"We're gonna die!"

He dove back into the snow and hid, dragging Cloud down with him.

Mikomi went back to hiding from the fight that was about to take place.

"I'm too young to deal with this shit!"

* * *

Bakuto and Yuri just had a stare off for a good five minutes.

Chakra filled the air and made it hard to breathe normally.

Yuri was in full Yankee mode right about now. She may have quit being one when she raised Mikomi, but she still held hr rebel streak within her.

Bakuto was staring to have second thoughts on this. Sure, he wanted to defend his honor as a loyal boyfriend, but he knew better than to fight a crazy woman who was pissed.

"**There's no turning back now. You brought this upon yourself, so you have to deal with it"**

Taimat had a point.

This would be the most epic snowball fight since the third ninja world war.

* * *

Mikomi and Yugito watched as snowballs rained the sky.

It was kind of weird to seeing Bakuto and Yuri fighting with snowballs, but then again, they were weird period.

They would through the frozen objects like they were weapons

Both were serious with this battle and none were planning on losing.

This went on for about a good 15 minutes before Yuri had enough of this.

"Ice Style! Tsunami Avalanche!"

The giant Tsunami went for Bakuto head on.

"Like that is going to work on me"

He jumped out of the way and did his own attack.

"Fire Style! Fire ball Jutsu!"

Fire spewed out of his mouth and hit the tsunami.

The snow melted as well as everywhere else. Everyone was able to get out of the now melted snow.

"well, it looks like our little snow day is over" Mikomi said.

"And I think Yuri has calmed down now"

Yuri did cool down. Since Bakuto melted the snow, there was no point in fighting him now.

"Aw man. You melted the snow" she whined like a little kid

Bakuto had a dead panned look on his face.

"What the-what happened to that pissed off aura you had around you just moments ago?"

Yuri shrugged.

"It's gone now since you melted the snow"

The stomped back into the house.

"You're no fun, you party pooper!"

She slammed the door behind her.

"What the hell?"

Mikomi just patted Bakuto on the shoulder.

"Let it go, Bakuto. Yuri's mood swings tend to give everyone whip lash. It's best to deal with it silently"

Yugito gave Bakuto a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you for saving me, Bakuto"

Bakuto blushed slightly.

* * *

Everyone went in after the little snowball fiasco. It was pretty nice to act childish for once. Even Vincent was smiling from the fight.

Naruto managed to have Cloud carry him inside since his body was numb from being covered with snow.

"I had so much fun. Did you Ni-san?"

Cloud's only reply was a grunt. Sure he had fun, but he wasn't going to show it to his friends, or else they would make fun of him (especially Yuffie).

Jiraiya had a fire going when they got in. Mikomi and Yuffie immediately went to it and sighed contently.

"I may love snow, but I hate winter. It's too cold for my tastes" Mikomi retorted.

Jiraiya snickered.

"This is coming from the girl whose birthday is in the winter?"

"Shut up! I'm a summer, not a winter! And besides, we don't even know if that's my actual birthday"

"Oh yeah. Your birthday is coming up" Yuri said as she came in with tea.

"I can't believe you'll be 19. You're practically an adult"

"And you're practically a kid" Mikomi muttered.

"You never told us it was your birthday was soon!" Yuffie retorted.

"That's because it's no big deal" Mikomi replied casually

"Are you even going to tell us what day it is?"

"Nope"

Yuffie pouted then looked at Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto. You know when your sister's birthday is"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

She gave him the puppy dog look.

"Could you please tell us then?"

Naruto blushed at the look.

"W-well, it's actually this mon-"

"Naruto, if you say anything, you won't get ramen for a year"

Naruto quickly closed his mouth shut.

"Sorry, Yuffie. No can do"

He Cloud in the sides like he was a horse.

"Ok, Ni-san. Take me to my room"

"What do I look like to you, a pack mule?"

"Kind of and I can't feel my legs yet, so giddy up!"

Cloud just mumbled under his breath as he brought the young blonde upstairs.

* * *

Everyone sat by the fire that night. Today was a rare treat for Konoha. It never snowed like this before. Denzel and Marlene were thrilled since they had never seen snow before.

Mikomi enjoyed the little day off she was given. It reminded her of when she was a kid. She thought she would never have this much fun again, yet her friends managed to pull that off perfectly.

"_I'm sure everyone had fun with you today" _Aerith said

"_I hope so. I usually don't play like this so I wouldn't know if I'm fun or not"_

'_I know you are. Why else would they want to hang out with you?"_

"_True. Why else would they want to hang out with a Jinchuriki?"_

"_That's right; they even want to celebrate your birthday. Speaking of which-"_

"_Not telling"_

"_Aww, you're no fun! You know I won't tell anyone"_

"_I don't know, you do tend to talk to Cloud, right? Who's to say that you'll tell him if I tell you?"_

Aerith didn't say anything which indicated that she was right.

"_I thought so"_

"_Can't blame me for wanting to make your birthday more enjoyable"_

"_Thanks, but I'm fine. Really"_

"_Ok then"_

Mikomi talked to Aertih that night. She thought it was nice being friends with the Cetra, even though she was dead. It made her feel closer with AVALANCE .

Everyone was out like a light when it was bedtime. The snowball fight wore them all out and made them running for their beds.

Mikomi was fast asleep with Cat Sith snuggled close to her.

She fell asleep not knowing what was going to happen in the next few days.

Boy was she in for a surprise.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. That's what happens when it snows in Konoha. Next chapter will be about a special someone's birthday! Take a wild guess that is?**

**Please send in those lovely reviews and let me know what you think**

**Ja ne**


	32. Happy Birthday!

Chapter 32: Happy Birthday!

**A/N: Hey everyone! Today is the time for celebration! It's Mikomi's Birthday and that's something to celebrate about. I had to make sure that I got this posted before things went hectic around my hose. Since it's my birthday as well, my family tends to go all out, and since its New Year's Eve, they become party animals. Hope you like this; I wanted to make this chapter special for our main character.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

* * *

"_Happy Birthday, Mikomi!"_

_Minato and Kushina were all smiles as they hugged their now four year old daughter._

_Mikomi was slightly confused. _

"_It's my birthday?"_

_She really didn't know what her real birthday was. She couldn't remember her past from before Minato found her. The only thing she knew was this was when Minato found her a year ago._

_Minato laughed._

"_Of course it is. This is the day when you became a member of this family. December 31__st__ is the day you became Mikomi Uzumaki"_

_Kushina picked her up and held her close._

"_This is the day that I finally got a daughter. And she's the cutesiest little thing that you've ever seen"_

_Mikomi managed to smile and hugged her mom back._

_So today was the day that Mikomi became Mikomi Uzumaki. Today was when her family celebrated for having her in their lives._

_Yuri and Jiraiya came in with drinks in hand._

"_Woo Hoo! Where's the birthday girl?!" Yuri cheered._

_Jiraiya picked her up and placed her on his shoulders._

"_Happy Birthday Mikomi!"_

_Mikomi giggled as Jiraiya walked around the house with her on his shoulders._

_That was one of the fondest memories that Mikomi had as she grew up. Every December 31__st__ became the celebration of when she became who she was today._

* * *

Mikomi sighed as she continued to sleep. Sarutobi had been generous this week and let her have the week off from missions.

Red Xlll slept at the foot of her bed while Cat Sith cuddled her arm. They thought her room was the coziest in the house for some reason and they refused to leave her bed. She didn't mind. She thought it was nice to have a sleeping companion.

Cat Sith moved around in his sleep.

"That's my fish, Yuffie. Hands off"

Red was running in his sleep and kept kicking Mikomi.

"Nanaki, stop kicking" Mikomi groaned.

She was one of the few people who would call him by his real name at times.

Red just rolled on his back and slept some more.

Things were fine for a tiny bit as they slept on. But that all changed when Yuri barged into her room and pounced on her bed with Naruto in tow.

"Mikomi!"

Everyone who was sleeping before was alert now. Yuri glomped Mikomi and rubbed her face against hers.

"Rise and shine, birthday girl!"

"Happy Birthday, Nee-chan!"

Mikomi gasped when she realized what day it was.

"_Oh, crap! I forgot it was my birthday!"_

"Happy Birthday, Mikomi!"

"_You're not helping, Usagi"_

She covered her face with her pillow.

"Today's your birthday?" Red asked.

"Yes. And don't tell anyone" Mikomi said through her pillow.

Cat Sith jumped on her stomach.

"But why? You should celebrate your special day with your friends"

"That's right. We're going to have so much fun!" Yuri beamed.

"Do we have to?"

"Yes! It's not every day that you turn 19. You're almost an adult for crying out loud!"

Naruto bounced up and down.

"Yeah! We got to have a party and everything!"

Mikomi lifted the pillow off her face.

"No party" she said.

Yuri and Naruto made a face.

"But why?" they whined in unison.

"I'm too old for parties. Besides, it's my birthday so I can do what I want"

Yuri pouted.

"You're no fun"

"No. you're just too much when it comes to parties"

Naruto plopped himself on the bed.

"So….if you don't want a party, then what do you want to do?"

Mikomi just shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess hang around the village or something. It's my last day off of work so I want to enjoy it"

Cat Sith lifted the pillow off her face so she was facing him.

"But, don't you want to do something special? I'm sure everyone would want to know it's your big day"

Mikomi just patted the little cat's head.

"I'm fine. It's no big deal really. It's just another day. You guys don't have to go crazy just because it's the 31st"

"But Mikomi"

"I'm fine, Cat Sith. I just want to relax, is all. Nothing more. And don't tell anyone" She said the last part to Yuri and Naruto.

They just grumbled as they got off the bed.

"Fine"

"It's your birthday after all"

They left the room pouting, knowing they weren't going to have a party. But since people couldn't say no to Yuri, she was already planning on telling her friends.

Mikomi sighed as she lay back down.

"God, those two can be too much"

Cat Sith curled up to her and used her arm to cover him up.

"Happy Birthday, Mikomi"

Mikomi smiled.

"Thanks Cat Sith"

Red went back to his spot on the bed.

"Are you sure you don't want to celebrate with a party?"

"Positive. Besides, there's this place that I want to go to anyway"

"Can we come with?"

"If you don't tell the others, then ok"

They all went back to sleep so they could get some shut eye before they went out for the day.

* * *

Mikomi casually walked around the village with Cat Sith and Red Xlll in tow. The little cat was held by Mikomi while Red walked next to her.

"So, where do you want to go, Mikomi?" Cat Sith asked.

Mikomi shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe go to the ramen shop and get something to eat. It is already noon"

"That sounds good. I'm in the mood for something with a lot of fish"

"I thought stuffed animals didn't eat?"

"I'm a special kind. Reeve was able to breathe life into me with his technology. I'm no ordinary robot"

"Wow, talk about fancy"

They went to the ramen hut and managed to get some good seats. Red had a hard time since he was an animal.

The old man that ran the ramen shop smiled when he saw Mikomi.

"Well if it isn't Mikomi. How might I help you today?"

"Hey there, old man. I'll take the Miso ramen with extra shrimp"

Cat Sith waved his hand crazily.

"I'll have the fisherman's special with extra crab meat and fish"

Red finally managed to sit in his seat properly.

"I'll take the house special with barbecued pork"

"Coming right up. And since it's your birthday, it's on the house"

Mikomi blushed slightly.

"T-that's not necessary"

"Of course it is. It's not every day that you turn a year older"

He handed them their orders as he talked to them.

"Here you go. Enjoy"

"Thanks"

Mikomi broke her chopsticks and dug in.

Red just shoved his face into the bowl since he couldn't hold chopsticks with is paws.

"Ichiraku really does make great ramen" Cat Sith.

"We should have this back in Midgar. They don't know what they're missing"

Mikomi just focused on eating her ramen. She hardly had any time to order some with all of the missions she had. She was really glad that the old man gave her extra shrimp. She loved it in her ramen like Naruto liked Barbequed pork in his.

Cat Sith chewed on his crab meat. He got bits of food on his whiskers in the process.

Mikomi got a napkin and wiped his face off.

"You are one messy kitty, you know that?"

Cat Sith licked his paws to get any last bits of crab he might have missed.

"I can't help it. I'm a cat for crying out loud. Being messy is my nature"

"He's got a point" Red Xlll said.

He finally pulled his face out of his bowl to show a ring of barbeque sauce covering his muzzle.

Mikomi laughed at him and pointed to his face.

"Nanaki, you should look at your face"

Red tried to lick the barbeque sauce off. Mikomi just wiped it off for him.

"There you go, all clean"

Red smiled in thanks and went back to eating.

"Hey!"

Cid and Barret came over and took a seat next to them.

"So this is where you were" Cid said.

He ordered himself some beef ramen while Barret got the oriental kind.

"We were looking for you all day" Barret replied.

"You have?"

"Yep. We found out that it was someone's birthday and we just had to find you"

Mikomi paled.

"Who told you?!"

Both of them laughed at her reaction.

"Yuri told us"

Mikomi snapped her chopsticks.

"_Yuri, you will die!"_

Barret patted her on the back.

"Oh, relax. What's wrong if we found out?"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because Yuri would have an excuse to party hard and drink till she passed out. You remember the Christmas party at the Hokage's mansion?"

Both men paled as they remember that horrific event. They did not know horror until they saw Yuri doing the striptease on top of one of the buffet tables.

"That's what would happen. I don't want anyone to know it's my birthday because then that means we'll have to have a party and we all know what happens when we put Yuri and party together"

Cid patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry; we'll make sure Yuri doesn't do anything too drastic."

Mikomi shivered as she thought about Yuri's little incidents.

Barret wrapped his arm around her and gave her a bear hug.

"Don't worry about Yuri right now. You should focus more about your special day"

Cid ruffled her hair.

"Happy Birthday, Mikomi"

"Happy Birthday"

Mikomi blushed a tiny bit.

"Thanks guys"

They let her go and went back to eating. The old man was even nice enough to give them a second round for free as well. Cat Sith was practically drooling when he saw the extra crab in his bowl.

"This has got to be the best day of my life"

He dove into his bowl and devoured all the crab that was in sight.

Mikomi giggled as she watched the little cat eat in her lap.

* * *

Cat Sith burped loudly when they left the hut.

"Good gracious me. That was embarrassing"

Mikomi rubbed his belly as she held him.

"Don't worry about it. That just shows how much you love Ichiraku ramen. Naruto is the same"

Cat Sith giggled as she tickled his stomach.

"So where do you want to go now?" Red Xlll asked.

Mikomi thought for a moment.  
"Well…I need to go to the flower shop. I want to pick up some flowers for this place that I'm heading to"

"Where would you need flowers for?" Cid asked.

"I want to visit someone." Mikomi replied softly.

"Komi-chan!"

Yuffie came out of nowhere and tackled Mikomi in a headlock.

"Happy, happy birthday!"

She gave her a noggie and continued saying 'happy birthday'.

Vincent came over and pulled Yuffie off of her.

"Sorry about that. She got excited when Yuri told her about today"

Mikomi fixed her hair up with a scowl on her face.

"Does everyone know that it's my birthday?!"

"Pretty much, yeah"

Mikomi hung her head.

"I told Yuri not to say anything"

"But, Mikomi. It's your Birthday! You should be celebrating it with your friends and family. Why would you keep it a secret?"

Mikomi shrugged.

"I don't know... I guess I'm just not used to the idea of people wanting to celebrate my birthday. Nobody likes to hang out with a Jinchuriki, remember?"

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard" The Wutai remarked.

"We're going to have a party whether you like it or not"

"Party! Party!" Cat Sith cheered.

Mikomi looked at everyone to see that they were inching towards a party.

"Come on, Mikomi. A party sounds like a great idea. Your friends want to celebrate with you. This is an opportunity that you don't want to pass up"

Mikomi mentally groaned.

Even Usagi was up for a party.

Sighing defeat, she gave in.

"Fine, I'll have a party. But I don't want Yuri in charge of it. You know she'll go crazy and load up on booze and all kinds of illegal stuff"

Yuffie gave her a mock salute.

"Have no fear. We'll plan you the best party yet!"

She ran off chanting 'party'.

Cid put out his cigarette.

"Might as well follow her. If we leave Yuffie to do the planning, then things are bound to turn ugly"

He ruffled Mikomi's hair before following after Yuffie.

Barret gave her another bear hug before going with.

Vincent stayed behind.

"What? You don't want to do party plans?"

"I'm not really a party animal"

Mikomi laughed.

"Could have fooled me"

Vincent gave her a smirk in response. He gave her a tight hug.

"Happy Birthday"

Mikomi smiled.

Vincent rarely hugged anyone, so this was a treat.

"Thanks Vincent"

The four of them headed for the flower shop to get some flowers.

"I wonder if anyone else knows it's my Birthday?"

As if on que, Bakuto and Yugito came over.

"Happy Birthday, Mikomi!" Yugito said.

"I'll take that as a yes"

Yugito hugged Mikomi tightly.

"I can't believe you're 19 today! Yuri was practically jumping when she told us"

"Why can't Yuri keep her mouth shut?" Mikomi groaned.

"I told her not to say anything"

"She doesn't take no for an answer. You of all people should know that" Vincent said.

Mikomi sighed.

"19 huh? I didn't think you would live that long" Bakuto said.

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's forehead. She knew that was his way of saying Happy Birthday, but it didn't make her feel any better.

"Be nice to her, Bakuto" Yugito chided.

"Today is her special day and we need to celebrate!"

She jumped up and down at the thought of a party.

"Oh, I can't wait! We're gonna have so much fun! I wonder what Yuri has in mind?"

"Yuri isn't planning" Mikomi said.

"She's forbidden since she tends to go crazy at parties"

Bakuto shivered as he remembered the Christmas party.

"Yuffie is supposedly planning, so if you want to pitch in, feel free. Just make sure Yuri doesn't get involved"

"You got it, Mikomi. Let's go, Bakuto. We need to find the perfect place to have this shindig"

Bakuto sighed and followed his girlfriend.

"Just because it's your Birthday, doesn't mean I'll be nice to you" He said.

"I would be a little creped out if you were nice. Just be yourself and we have a deal, but don't be so harsh like you normally are"

Bakuto sighed.

"Fine. Consider that as your present then"

Mikomi gave him a cheesy grin.

"That's all I wanted. Thanks"

He waved her off as he went after his hyper girlfriend.

"Alright then, next stop is the flower shop"

The four friends went without any run ins from their friends for the rest of the trip.

* * *

The Yamanaka flower shop was the only floral store in Konoha. For a village as large as the hidden leaf, it was pretty sad that they had only one flower store.

"What kind of flowers are you going to get?" Red Xlll asked.

"I don't know. I'm just looking for something that will look nice. Something that will fit this month's theme"

"_Why not get lilies?" _Aerith suggested.

"_Hey, Aerith. I take you're here to celebrate too?"_

"_I sure am. It's not every day that you're friend turns 19. Happy Birthday!"_

She started singing the happy birthday song to her as she went inside.

Ino was running the shop when she saw her come in.

"Hi, Mikomi- sensei. What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Ino. I'm looking for some lilies. Can you get some in yellows and whites?"

"Sure thing"

She went to work and started preparing the bouquet for her.

"What are the flowers for?" Cat Sith asked.

Mikomi gave the cat a small smile.

"Let's just say that I'm visiting someone's grave"

Cat Sith didn't get to say anything since Ino came back with the flowers.

"Here you go, Mikomi-Sensei"

"Thanks Ino"

She paid for the flowers and went off to who knows where.

"Where are we going, Mikomi?" Red Xlll asked.

"Nowhere. I'm just going to pay my respects to someone"

She spotted Tifa and Cloud walking by.

Cat Sith waved them down.

"Oi! Cloud! Tifa!"

They two spotted them and went up to the group.

Tifa immediately gave Mikomi a hug.

"Happy Birthday, Mikomi"

Mikomi hugged her back.

"Thanks. I take it Yuri told you?"

"More like announced it to everyone" Cloud said.

"She wouldn't shut up about it"

Mikomi sighed.

"Damn you, Yuri"

"Hey. Don't be like that" Tifa said.

"You should be happy it's your birthday. You're a year older, and a year wiser."

"I know, but when you have Yuri for a godmother, birthdays tend to get a little crazy"

"Like that time at the Christmas banquet?" Cloud asked.

He still had a bruise from when she 'accidentally' hit him while she was drunk.

"Pretty much, yeah"

Cloud inwardly shivered.

"It's no big deal really. It's another day if you think about it. What's the point in celebrating anyway?"

"The point is that you're friends want to celebrate the day you were born. We're lucky to have you as a friend and we want to show it by celebrating" Tifa said in her stern, motherly tone.

Mikomi sweat dropped.

"Anyway, what's with the flowers?"

Mikomi walked off.

"I'm going to visit someone's grave" She said quietly.

"Oh really? Who?"

She looked at her friends with a sad look on her face.

"My parents"

With that, she went off.

Tifa brought a hand up to her mouth.

"Oh" she said softly.

She followed after her with Red Xlll in tow.

Vincent just shrugged and followed as well.

Cloud didn't say anything and just took the rear of the group.

They all followed Mikomi as she went to pay her respects to her parents.

* * *

"Aren't we going to the cemetery?"

Mikomi walked into a forest and went deeper and deeper within the trees.

"No. Mom and dad wanted to be buried in a special location when they died"

She walked a little further and saw Jiraiya up ahead.

"I was wondering when you would show up" the hermit said.

Mikomi gave him a slight wave.

"Yuri's not coming?"

"Nah. She's keeping Naruto away so you can pay your respects privately. She already said hi to them"

"I see"

Jiraiya waved at the rest of her group.

"Well now. I didn't think you would be bringing anyone with you"

"They wanted to come with, so I let them"

She walked further into the forest until she came into a clearing. The area was a small field of grass that was surrounded by trees. In the center of the clearing stood the tombstone of Mikomi's parents.

Mikomi didn't say anything as she stood in front of her parents resting place. It took everything within her not to cry. Just seeing the stone reminded her of how she failed her parents. She let them died when she could have done something to prevent it.

"_They gave me a life and a family, and how do repay them for it? I did nothing and let them die horribly."_

She hung her head in shame.

"_I must be the worst daughter in the world"_

She knelt down and placed the flowers on the grave.

"_Hi Mom. Hi Dad." _She thought.

"_I turned 19. Today we would have celebrated when we became a family."_

A tear slipped from her eyes.

"_I'm so sorry for failing you as a daughter. You shouldn't have died like the way you did. Forgive me"_

Some of the tears landed on Cat Sith's head as he was held by Mikomi.

The little cat had a sad expression on his face as he watched his friend silently cry. He wrapped his tiny arms around her neck and hugged her.

"It's ok, Mikomi" he said.

She returned the hug equally.

Red Xlll licked her face and rubbed his head against her arm.

* * *

Jiraiya stood a little ways off to give his goddaughter some alone time. His expression was grim as he saw the sad and empty look on her face. Tifa, Vincent and Cloud stayed back so they could give Mikomi some room.

"Poor Mikomi" Tifa said.

Jiraiya pulled out his pipe and lit the tobacco that he stuffed in it. He took a drag from it and watched as he blew a ring of smoke into the air.

"Hard to believe it's been 13 years already. Man time flies"

He propped himself by a tree and looked at Mikomi with hooded eyes.

"Minato and Kushina sure did pick a bad time to leave her like that. Poor kid"

Tifa looked at the perverted sage.

"Um…if you don't mind me asking…but how did they die? We know that Minato died sealing the nine tailed foxes inside Naruto and Mikomi…but how did Kushina died?"

Jiraiya sighed wearily.

"Kushina died due to complications from childbirth. She suffered from blood loss and due to the nine tailed fox attack"

"So…they died on Naruto's birthday?"

"Yep. The day that Mikomi gained a brother was the day that she lost her parents. Pretty cruel, huh?"

Nobody said anything. This was too much for them to cope with.

"Why does she come here on her birthday? She should be doing something more cheerful than this" Tifa said.

Jiraiya shrugged.

"She always comes here on her birthday. Today is special because this is when Minato and Kushina adopted her"

He tapped some tobacco out of his pipe.

"Back when the second ninja world war was nearing to an end, Minato stumbled upon a girl no older than 3 with no recollection to who she was and where she came from. Since it was dangerous to leave an infant out in the open like that, he took her home to Kushina and the rest is history. Mikomi feels like this is the only way she can repay her thanks for being given a life and a family. It may sound strange, but that's Mikomi for you"

* * *

Tifa slowly walked over to Mikomi and knelt down next to her.

"Hey, Mikomi"

Mikomi wiped her tears away as she looked at her friend.

"Hey, Tifa" she said softly.

Tifa brushed the hair out of her face.

"Are you ok?"

"I will be"

The martial artist hugged her best friend.

"It's ok, Mikomi. I'm sure you're parents are happy that you're doing fine and have grown a year older"

Mikomi rested her head on Tifa's shoulder.

"I hope so. I wished they were here right now"

She pulled back to look at her parents grave.

Cloud and Vincent came over to pay their respects.

Cloud read the plaque that rested on the grave.

Here lies Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki.

Husband and Wife.

Father and Mother.

"I thought your dad's last name was Uzumaki?"

Mikomi shook her head.

"No. It was Namikaze"

She smiled softly.

"He changed it when he married my mom. Said that Uzumaki sounded better. That was the way my dad was"

"That's…unusual"

"Yep. But my dad liked unusual things"

"You're right about that" Jiraiya said.

He put his pipe away and pulled out a bottle Sake.

"When he became Hokage, he set sparklers up on the Hokage mansion and set them off when he made his promotion speech"

Tifa laughed.

"That sounds like something Yuri would do"

"Yuri was the one who suggested it"

Jiraiya poured himself a cup of sake.

"Here's to you, Minato and Kushina. And here's to Mikomi birthday" He winked at his goddaughter.

"Another year older and another year sexier"

"Jiraiya!"

The hermit laughed as Mikomi chased him.

Cloud and Vincent followed after with Red Xlll barking as he ran.

Tifa just shook her head as she smirked.

"Guys"

She faced the grave and made a silent prayer to Minato and Kushina.

"_Dear Minato and Kushina. I know we haven't met, but don't worry about Mikomi and Naruto. We're taking good care of them and they're members of our family now. You don't have to worry about whether they'll be alone anymore because we'll be with them for the rest of our lives. I just hope you realize how lucky you both were to have such amazing kids. I'm really lucky to have met your daughter and I don't regret any day that I'm with her. I hope you rest in peace and we'll look after your children from now on"_

When she finished her prayer, she could have sworn she heard someone say _'thank you' _in her ear.

She smiled softly to herself.

"Hey, you pervy sage! Get back here!"

Mikomi kept chasing Jiraiya and swung her sword around as she did. Jiraiya just laughed at her antics then yelped when Vincent fired off Cerberus at him.

"Hey, two against one isn't fair!"

Cloud and Red Xlll appeared in front of him.

"No. Four against one isn't"

Cloud performed blade beam and aimed it at Jiraiya. The hermit screamed and jumped out of the way at the last second.

"What's the big idea? I was just giving a toast to Mikomi"

Mikomi body slammed him to the ground and sat in him.

"You made it sound dirty, you old pervert"

Jiraiya's face went red when he was the view he got of Mikomi's chest.  
"M-Mikomi. Y-you really should change your outfit. I can practically see your boobs popping out of your shirt"

Mikomi's went in flames.

"Jiraiya!"

She grabbed him by the neck and shook him like a rag doll.

"How can you say that about your goddaughter?!"

"How can you wear an outfit like that and not get hit on?!"

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's head.

"Cloud, get him"

She got off of him and left him at the blonde's mercy.

An evil aura covered Cloud as he face Jiraiya.

The hermit started sweating bullets when he saw him raise his buster sword.

"N-now Cloud. Let's talk this out like gentlemen. This is just a big misunderstanding. Put your sword down, will ya? You're making be nervous"

Cloud didn't say anything and just kept his eyes glued on the hermit.

"Omnislash" he muttered.

Jiraiya screamed like a girl as Cloud performed his most powerful technique.

* * *

"Man, Jiraiya. You got owned"

The hermit had gained a black eye, a busted lip and a few broken ribs from Cloud's wrath.

Mikomi was giggling as Vincent gave her a piggy back ride to the village.

"You better think next time before you shoot your mouth off like that again. Otherwise, Cloud will get you again. Right Cloud?"

The blonde didn't say anything except showed his sword to Jiraiya to prove his point.

Jiraiya jumped back slightly.

"I'll keep that in mind" he said.

Mikomi rested her head on Vincent's shoulder.

"That was actually fun" She said.

"I didn't think visiting mom and dad's grave would make me laugh like that. I should bring you guys with again next time"

Tifa smiled.

"I'm sure you're parents would like that"

Mikomi smiled in return.

"Me too"

Naruto ran up to them with Denzel and Marlene in tow.

"Hey, Nee-chan. Yuri told me to look for you. She said that we're having your party at a bar"

Mikomi groaned.

"Great. She'll be drunk in less than a minute"

"Oh, don't worry. Cid and Barret made sure that there would be no alcohol at all"

That made her feel slightly better.

Marlene jumped up and down.

"The bar looks so cool; Onee-chan. Yuri even got Myou, Guy, Asuma, Kurenai and Kakashi to come!"

Cloud growled when the scarecrow was mentioned.

Tifa nudged him to stop.

"Be nice, it's Mikomi's birthday"

Cloud didn't say anything.

Red suddenly remembered something.

"I almost forgot. You never told us what you wanted for your birthday"

Tifa gasped as she realized that as well.

"Oh, my god. You're right. You never did tell us!"

Mikomi giggled.

"Don't freak out, Tifa. You guys already gave me the one thing that I've always wanted"

"Oh, really? What?"

Mikomi smiled.

"Friends"

Everyone's expressions softened.

Naruto got weirded out by the mushy scenario and broke it up.

"Alright everyone! Let's go party!"

Everyone cheered and went to the bar.

The kids ran in front of them shouting 'party' as they went.

* * *

The bar was jammed pack when they arrived. Mikomi's friends were all there to celebrate her special day with her. She didn't even realize how so many people wanted to celebrate her birthday with her. It made her feel wanted for a change.

Vincent put her down when they got inside was immediately attacked by Yuffie and Yugito.

"Happy Birthday!" they said for the hundredth time that day.

Mikomi just let them hug her.

"Thanks you guys. I didn't realize you wanted to celebrate my birthday that badly"

"Of course we do. You're our friend after all"

They pulled her further into the bar to be bombarded by her friends.

Yuri picked her up and swung her around.

"My baby is already 19!" she squealed.

"I feel so old right now"

Mikomi patted her awkwardly.

"Don't worry Yuri. At least you're not as old as Jiraiya"

That cheered Yuri up.

"You're right on that"

Jiraiya just made a face.

"Keep it up, Yuri. Just remember that those crow's feet aren't getting any better"

Yuri just put him in a head lock and did the pile driver.

"Now is that any way to talk to your loving cousin, Jiraiya?" she asked 'sweetly'.

Mikomi laughed at her godparents. It was nice to see them like their old selves.

Kakashi came over and kissed Mikomi on the forehead.

"Happy Birthday, Mikomi"

Mikomi went as red as her shirt at that point.

All of the girls went 'oooh' while the guys were fuming (except Bakuto, he didn't really care).

Cloud's hand twitched towards his buster sword.

Yuri got up from her wrestling Jiraiya.

"Alright everyone! Let's party!"

Everyone cheered to that as the music started playing.

* * *

Mikomi was actually enjoying herself. She thought it would be a bad idea to have a party, but now she saw that she was wrong.

They had the bar all to themselves for the night and Yuri made sure to make the best of it. She rummaged through one of the cabinets that contained liquor and looked for the best kind.

"You can't have a party unless you have…."

She pulled out a huge bottle of-

"Sake!"

Everyone paled in an instant.

Yuri grabbed a few glasses and opened the bottle.

"Let's get this party started. Woo!"

She poured herself a huge glass of the clear liquid and raised it up.

"Here's to Mikomi. Here's to being a year older, a year wiser, a year hotter and a year sweeter. Cheers"

She brought the glass to her lips.

"No!!!!"

Cid and Bakuto tackled her to the ground, making her drop her sake.

They both sat on her as she tried to get up.

"What's the big idea? I was just having a drink"

"We said no drinking for this party, remember?" Cid said.

"I don't want to see a 40 year old woman doing the striptease again!" Bakuto cried.

Yuri pouted and tried to get her sake back.

"Give me back my sake!"

"No way! It's Mikomi's birthday and you need to stay sober. We made a deal, remember?"

Yuri crossed her arms over her chest.

"Fine. Since it's 'Komi-chan's special day"

Sighing with relief, they both got off of her and hid the sake away.

Mikomi was laughing her ass off. She never thought that she would see Cid and Bakuto jump like that.

"Oh man. This has got to be the best day of my life. You guys just made my day"

She wiped the tears from her eyes and continued laughing.

* * *

A little while later.

Just as Mikomi was finishing up her drink, Kakashi came over and sat on the bar stool that was next to her.

"You're friends sure do know how to throw a party" he said.

Mikomi nodded.

"I can't believe they did this. That was so nice of them"

Kakashi smiled as he looked at his teammate. She looked so happy right about now.

He pulled a small package from his pocket and held it out for her.

"The birthday girl should have a birthday present"

Mikomi eyed the package.

"You didn't have to get me anything, Kakashi"

Kakashi grinned.

"I know, but I wanted to"

He put the package in her hands.

"Go on, open it up"

She looked at the package for a moment. It was a small box that had a shiny red ribbon tied around it.

"That's about the same size as a wedding ring box" Usagi said.

"_Ha! I wish. There's no way that Kakashi would propose to me like this"_

Taking the ribbon off, she slowly opened the lid to reveal a gold chain that had two rings on it. When she took a closer look at it, she realized they were her parent's wedding rings.

She gasped as she held it up.

"Kakashi…how did you…"

Kakashi rubbed his head nervously.

"Yuri gave me the rings a while back. They kind of got damaged when the village was attacked by the nine tailed fox, so I had them fixed. I thought that this would be a perfect gift for you"

Mikomi's eyes got all misty as she hugged Kakashi.

"Thank you so much, Kakashi. This is perfect"

Kakashi held her back.

"I'm glad you like it"

Mikomi pulled back and turned around.

"Can you put it on for me?"

She held up the necklace for him.

His eye curled up to show that he was grinning.

"Sure, why not"

He took it from her and placed it around her neck. He blushed as his fingers made contact with her soft skin.

When he clasped it in place, she turned around to face him.

"How do I look?"" she asked.

The rings sparkled from the light in the room, making her face glow slightly.

"You look perfect" he said.

Mikomi smiled at that.

Myou came over and pulled Mikomi's arm.

"Captain, Tifa and the girls want you to come over"

She nodded her head to tell her she would be there in a minute.

She looked back at Kakashi.

"Thank you again, Kakashi"

Kakashi leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Happy Birthday, Mikomi"

Mikomi went red and let Myou drag her away from him.

Her fingers reached for the necklace that was around her neck as she talked to her girlfriends.

* * *

The guys were a little ways off as they saw this unfold.

Cloud almost broke his glass when he saw Kakashi kiss Mikomi. It would seem that the over protective gene was getting the best of him lately.

Cid put out his cigarette in a nearby ash tray.

"Would you look at that guy? He's pulling a move on her already"

"It's about time that he did" Jiraiya said as he came over.

"That boy has had a crush on her since the moment he met her. He's got it real bad for her that even Guy doesn't stand a chance"

He took a swig of his drink.

"I can tell you right now, in about a year; he'll probably be my new son-in –law"

Cloud spit out his drink as he heard that. He sent a frosty glare at the hermit.

"Do you want to get hit again?"

Jiraiya waved him off.

"Please. It's obvious that they love each other. They're just clueless when it comes to confessing it to each other"

He patted Cloud on the back.

"Think about it, soon Mikomi will be known as Mikomi Hatake"

Cloud pulled his arm and twisted it behind his back.

"She's not going to marry anyone while I'm around"

Jiraiya yelped as he pulled his arm back farther.

"What's the big idea? You're not her father, so why would you care?"

"Cloud is pretty much her older brother" Cid said.

"He's kept an eye on her since we met her. He won't leave her by herself, knowing that guys are around"

"And he can't leave Naruto alone, knowing what trouble he might cause" Vincent added.

As if on que, Naruto jumped on the counter in front of them.

"Ni-san! Catch me!"

He jumped off and tackled Cloud to the ground, causing him to release Jiraiya.

Naruto rubbed his face against Cloud's.

"I love you Ni-san" he slurred.

Cloud could smell the alcohol in his breath.

"Naruto, what have you been drinking?"

"Nothing. I just took a sip from Yuri's water. It tasted a little funny"

Vincent took the glass and sniffed it.

"This isn't water" he said. "It's sake"

Cid spotted Yuri chugging down a bottle of sake in the corner.

"Yuri!"

The medic quickly hid the bottle behind her.

"What?"

The pilot chewed her out for the rest of the night while Cloud tried to pull a drunken Naruto off of him.

It seemed that as the party got closer to the end, everyone was all shit faced.

* * *

Mikomi flopped in her bed when she got home.

Everyone was pretty much out of it and went to bed right away. Red Xlll and Cat Sith immediately got on the bed and got comfy.

"That was some party" Cat Sith slurred.

He plopped on his pillow and was out of it.

Red Xlll stretched himself out at the foot of the bed and went to sleep.

Mikomi pulled the covers over her and turned off the lights.

Her hand went for the necklace that Kakashi gave her and wrapped her fingers around the rings.

Her eyes grew heavy with sleep and closed when she made impact with her pillow.

She thought she would wind up asleep, but instead she found herself within Aerith's flower field.

The Cetra smiled softly at her friend.

"_I'm glad I got to see you before you went to sleep, Birthday girl"_

Mikomi smiled at her friend.

"Thanks Aerith"

Aerith walked over to her and hugged her friend tightly.

"_I'm glad you had fun today. I was beginning to worry if you weren't going to do anything today"_

She pulled back slightly to look at her.

"_At least you had fun with your friends"_

She touched the necklace that was around her neck.

_And you got something nice from your crush. I bet he likes you"_

Mikomi blushed.

"I-I wouldn't say that. We're teammates, so he probably sees me as a friend"

She fiddled with her fingers in a Hinata matter.

"But…I hope he does like me. That would make me the happiest girl in the world"

Aerith placed her hand on her shoulder.

"_Don't worry. I'm sure he loves you. He wouldn't give you a gift if he didn't like you. Speaking of gifts"_

She waved her hand and had flowers appear in front of her.

"_Happy Birthday. Every girl should have flowers given to her every once in a while"_

Mikomi took the flowers and smelled them.

"Thank you" she said softly.

The Cetra grinned at her.

"_Anytime. Just remember to come and visit me, ok?"_

Mikomi nodded.

"I'll see you later"

Aerith waved as everything faded.

Right as Mikomi returned to her mind, she was fast asleep. She didn't even realize that she was still holding the flowers Aerith gave her.

Today turned out to be the best birthday that Mikomi had ever had in a long time. Tifa was right that Birthdays are better when you share it with your friends. AVALANCHE created memories that she would cherish for a long time.

As she drifted off to slumber land, she hoped that her next birthday would be as memorable as this one.

* * *

**A/N: Happy Birthday, Mikomi! This has to be the longest chapter that I've written for this story so far. **

**Woo Hoo! Go me! I hope you all enjoyed yourselves with this little side chapter. Next time, we go back to the main story and watch as Naruto tries to summon Gamabutna. Speaking of summoning…….**

**If you loved this chapter, then you know what to do. Just hit the review button and send me your comments. If you do, I'll give you a cookie!**

**See you next time!**


	33. Understanding

Chapter 33: Understanding

**A/N: Hey everyone! Happy New year! Two chapters in two days? That's got to be nice. For my New Years Resolution, I want to at least get 100 reviews for this story before 7/21/2010 (The one year anniversary). Hopefully, I'll write better chapters that will make you want to review more, so wish me luck.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

**Enjoy!**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

* * *

Mikomi sighed as she sat by a tree. Jiraiya had finally relented to help Naruto with his training for the exams. She had no idea what he had in mind, so she decided to watch. Cloud wasn't thrilled with the idea of her being by herself with the pervert, so he made someone go with her.

Yugito pulled out one of the Bento boxes she brought with. She thought this would be a great way to bond together.

Mikomi smiled as she was given a bento. Yugito turned out to be a really great cook. Everything she made was filled with love and care.

"So what is Jiriaya-sama going to teach Naruto?"

Mikomi shrugged as she ate a piece of sushi.

"Who knows? That's why I wanted to watch. You never know what that pervert will have up his sleeves"

Yugito nodded.

They watched as Jiraiya tried to explain to Naruto the art of summoning.

"Is he an idiot or something? He expects Naruto to learn how to summon in only a month? He's got to be high"

She just ate her rice ball and watched as Naruto tried to control his chakra better.

* * *

_15 Minutes Later_

"He's not making much progress, is he?"

"Nope"

The females sipped on their tea and watched as Jiraiya explain everything to Naruto for the third time. It looked like he was about to pull his hair out any moment now.

"_Poor, Naruto. If only he was a bit smarter"_

"You can blame it on Yuri. She dropped him on the head when he was a baby" Usagi said.

"_That only happened two or three times though. He couldn't be that brain damaged, could he?"_

"Who knows? But he did eat paint chips when he was three"

"_True"_

Leaning her head on the tree, she just closed her eyes and felt the wind on her face.

"The breeze feels nice today"

"It sure does"

The sun hit her closed eyes.

"The sun sure is bright though"

Just then, the sunlight vanished from her eyes.

"What the?"

She opened an eye to see Bakuto standing in front of them.

"Well, if it isn't the damn dragon. What brings you here on this fine day?"

Bakuto didn't pay her any attention and looked at his girlfriend.

"Yugito, what are you doing here? Don't you realize that you're within the same area as that pervert?" He said as he pointed to Jiraiya.

Yugito smiled innocently.

"Relax, Bakuto. Mikomi is here and I just couldn't leave her alone, now could I? Take it easy."

"Yeah, we're having a girls day, so beat it" Mikomi said.

Bakuto glared at her.

"I don't take orders from you" he said.

"Now, Bakuto. We're trying to have a girls day, and we can't have it with you around. Just go spend time with the guys or something and leave us be. We'll be fine"

Bakuto made a face but listened to his girlfriend.  
"Fine. But if that pervert does anything, I'll be back"

"Jiraiya is harmless. Now get"

Bakuto grumbled as he left.

* * *

Sighing deeply, Mikomi looked at Yugito.

"Can I ask you something?"

The cloud ninja nodded.

"What exactly do you see in that guy?"

Yugito giggled.

"I know where this is going. Bakuto may act cold, but he's really a sweet heart when you get to know him. He just embarrassed to show his romantic side"

"I didn't think that dragon had a romantic side at all. He's always acting like he doesn't care about anyone, no offense"

"That's fine. I felt the same way before I realized Bakuto had feelings for me. It's so hard to figure out what he's thinking or feeling with that emotionless mask that he's always wearing"

"How did you find out that he liked you then?"

"Well…."

* * *

_Flashback_

_Bakuto and Yugito jumped from the trees that covered the forest. _

_They were in the middle of the second stage of the exams and so far, they were the only surviving ones from their village. _

_Yugito panted as she landed on a branch._

_She was tired out from all of the running that she did today. It really wasn't much about fighting in this exam. You had to learn how to blend with your surroundings and make yourself invisible to the enemy._

_Pulling out a water bottle, she took a swig before handing it to Bakuto._

"_Here, Bakuto. You look like you're about to pass out"_

_Sweat was dripping from Bakuto's head. Since he was the leader of their group, he took it upon himself to make sure that his remaining teammate was still alive through these exams. He couldn't afford to be the only cloud ninja that survived the exams. It would ruin their village's reputation._

_Taking the water bottle from her, he silently thanked before downing half of the liquid inside._

_He handed it back to her as he pulled out a map._

_They had to get to the check point within three days if they wanted to make it to the next stage of the exams. So far, they spent two days in this godforsaken forest and nearly every cloud ninja that entered was annihilated. _

"_Let's see. Judging from where we are, I say we're about a day away from the check point"_

_He put his map away._

"_If we stay out of trouble, we should be out of here in no time"_

_Yugito sighed in relief. She was sick of this forest._

"_That's good to hear. I can't wait to get out of here"_

"_Likewise"_

_Yugito rested against the tree._

_She couldn't help herself from looking at Bakuto while he rearranged his stuff in his pack. The evening sun hit his face just right to where it seemed like he was glowing. She couldn't stop the blush that spread across her face. _

_Bakuto was a handsome man. There was no denying that. His icy cool features gave him a unique elegance that made him look like a god. It amazed her that none of the girls in the village were drooling over him. But then again, no one would want to associate with a Jinchuriki. _

_She understood his pain all too clearly. While he harbored the village guardian, Taimat, she harbored the two tailed cat. Both were outcasts of their village. They didn't belong to anyone or anywhere. It had been like that since they could remember._

_Yet, despite all of that, she managed to somehow fall in with him. She didn't know how and she didn't know why. But when she saw those ice blue eyes, he became everything to her. She was madly in love with him, but she knew that he would never return his feelings. It was sad, but she was fine with it, so long as she could stay by his side._

_Bakuto looked up from his packing and saw Yugito looking at him._

"_Something wrong, Yugito?"_

_Yugito immediately looked away from him and blushed._

"_N-no. Just thinking, that's all"_

_She distracted herself with fixing her headband or whatever clothing that was out of place._

'_Oh my god, he must think I'm a space cadet or something' she thought._

_Having her crush thinking she was out there was the one thing she needed._

_Anime tears fell from her face as she thought of this._

'_I want Bakuto to notice me, but not like this!'_

_Bakuto was oblivious to her inner dilemma and pulled out a ration bar from his bag._

"_Here, we'll need to save our strength for tomorrow. Eat up"_

_He threw it at her and watched as she fumbled to catch it. She blushed when she finally caught it._

"_You sure that you're alright?"_

"_Y-yes! I-I'm just ….tired! That's right; I'm just tired from today"_

_Bakuto nodded in understanding._

"_Just be sure to rest up for tomorrow. Who knows what lies ahead of us?"_

_He leaned against the tree and bowed his head._

"_Rest up, Yugito"_

"_Right"_

_She made herself comfortable on her side of the tree and closed her eyes. Everything was quiet for a moment before Yugito spoke out._

'_Bakuto?"_

_The cloud ninja opened an eye._

"_What?"_

_Yugito sat up and looked at her teammate._

_She was blushing slightly as she tried to piece out the words that she wanted to say to him._

'_I know it'll sound crazy, but it's better to ask than not'_

_She took a steady breath before looking into his blue eyes._

"_Um…when we finish these exams…."_

_She fiddled with her fingers a bit._

"…_if you by some chance ….want to hang out?"_

_Bakuto opened both of his eyes and looked at her strangely._

"_Huh?"_

_Yugito quickly went red and waved her hands around._

"_N-not as in a date or anything! I-I meant maybe we could hang out and celebrate finishing the exams. We are the last one's from our village after all"_

_Bakuto closed his eyes._

"_We haven't finished the exams yet. There's no telling what might happen in the future"_

_Yugito's spirit dropped._

"_O-oh"_

'_I guess that means no then'_

_She gave him a weak smile._

"_Y-you're right. I shouldn't be thinking about things like that right now. Forget I even asked. Good night"_

_She turned over and went to sleep. _

_Bakuto followed suite and fell asleep after words._

* * *

_They were gone at the crack of dawn. They wanted to finish this exam as fast as possible, even if it meant that they had to sacrifice some shut eye._

_They ran though the forest and headed for the check point._

"_How much farther?" Yugito asked._

"_About 5 miles"_

_They continued running for a while without saying anything. Bakuto got tired of the quietness._

"_Yugito"_

_The kunochi looked at her partner._

"_What?"_

"_About what you said last night"_

_Yugito quickly waved it away._

"_Don't worry about it. I wasn't thinking properly and just wanted to make plans after all of this is over. I'm a ninja; I need to be thinking more serious than this. I just…"_

_She gave him a weak smile._

"_I just wanted to spend more time with you"_

_Bakuto was surprised._

"_You want to spend time with me? The holder of the ten winged dragon? You must be crazy"_

"_No I'm not. I think you're a very nice person and enjoy being with you"_

_She blushed slightly._

"_People just don't understand you like I do. I can see that you're a really kind person and that you're just afraid of letting people see the real you. You're the kind of guy that every woman is trying to find"_

_Bakuto didn't say anything. He just looked at Yugito as she adverted her stare from him._

"_You have got to be the first person that has ever said that to me" he said quietly._

_Nobody didn't say anything for a while and kept running._

* * *

_They were within meters of the check point._

"_I can see it!" Yugito cried._

_Bakuto nodded._

_They were finally going to get out of this hell hole and go through the third exam. Nothing could ruin this now._

_That is until they got hit with a lighting jutsu._

_Both were sent flying into different directions and away from the check point._

"_What the hell?" Bakuto groaned._

"_Well, well, well. What do we have here? A couple of cloud ninja's trying to finish the second exam"_

_The trees rustled as a rain ninja jumped down._

_He wore the standard rain ninja attire with a headband tied around his forehead. He held a feminine look to his face with green hair framing his face._

_Bakuto recognized who this man was. He was placed within Kumogakure's bingo book._

_He was Aoi Rokusho, a former Konoha ninja who defected when he stole the sacred sword from the second Hokage. _

_They were given specific orders from their Raikage that if they were ever to run into this man that they were to obtain the second Hokage's sword from him. _

_Bakuto got up on his knees._

_He didn't plan on taking care of a mission while he was in the exams, but their Raikage did say to obtain it whenever._

"_**Take what you can get" **__Taimat said._

_Bakuto had to agree with his Bijuu. _

_He was going to get that sword, even if it meant he had to die for it._

_He looked at Yugito and gave her a look. She nodded in understanding and got to her feet._

_Bakuto pulled his swords out and went into attack mode._

_Aoi did the same._

"_Oh? You wish to fight? Then by all means"_

_He went into his weapon pouch and pulled out the infamous sword._

_The sword of the Thunder God. A chakra sword that could create a blade made entirely out of lighting. It was said to be the most deadliest weapon in all of Konoha._

_Yugito went into a fighting stance, but Bakuto stopped her._

"_Stay back, Yugito. I need you to keep an eye on his and look for an opening"_

_She nodded in understanding and stepped back._

_The two men face off against each other. Both had their weapons drawn and ready for battle._

_The electricity emanating from Aoi's sword would fizzle._

_Nobody said anything. Nobody moved. Both were waiting for the opportune moment to strike. _

_Sweat dripped down Bakuto's face as he concentrated on his opponent. This was going to be the most difficult battle he would ever face as a Genin._

_A bead of sweat ran down his face. Once it hit the ground, then all hell broke loose. _

_Sparks clashed as blades made contact. Electricity would zap the air as it made contact with Bakuto's swords. _

_Aoi wouldn't let up and seemed to be going faster as the battle progressed._

_Bakuto cursed when Aoi would get a hit on him. His body littered with cuts while Aoi's was left unharmed. _

_Yugito bit her lip as she watched the fighting continue. She didn't like seeing Bakuto get hurt and just the sight of those cuts pulled her heartstrings._

_Bakuto tried to catch him off guard with a fire jutsu, but it just back fired on him. _

_Aoi laughed he sent Bakuto flying._

"_Is that the best you can do, cloud ninja?"_

_He propped his sword on his shoulder._

_Yugito saw that he was leaving himself vulnerable at the moment and took the opportunity to attack._

_She quickly ran up from behind and tacked him to the ground. Aoi was caught surprised and dropped his sword in the process. _

_That was all Yugito needed. She quickly got off of him and quickly picked up the sword before Aoi could get his hands on it._

_Aoi got up on his feet and glared at her._

"_You little bitch" he hissed._

_Yugito held the sword in front of her awkwardly. She never used a sword before, so this was new to her._

_She charged at him and swung the blade like a mad man. _

_Aoi laughed at her attempts as he dodged her._

"_Are you serious? Is this the best you can do?"_

_He kicked her in the stomach when she left herself open and sent her flying into a tree. She held on to the thunder sword for dear life and didn't loosen her grip when she hit the tree. _

_Her head spinned from the impact and she couldn't think properly._

_Aoi walked over to her body and stood before her._

"_You got a lot of nerve taking my sword from me" He performed a set of handsigns._

"_You need to be taught a lesson"_

_A giant ball of electricity formed into his hand a sizzled within the atmosphere._

"_Let's see what 1000 volts of electricity will do to your body?"_

_Yugito closed her eyes and waited for the impacts that would probably end her life. But the hit never came. The only thing she felt was someone pushing her out of the way at the last second._

_Yugito gasped when she saw Bakuto get hit with the jutsu._

_Aoi laughed as he watched Bakuto get electrocuted._

"_How does that feel, cloud ninja?"_

_He saw silver and black chakra covering Bakuto's body. Gold eyes looked up at him. The sight made Aoi's blood run cold._

"_Not bad actually. I don't feel a thing?"_

_He ran his clawed hand through his body and cut him to ribbons. Aoi staggered as he choked on his own blood._

"_H-how d-dare you" he choked._

_He held his bleeding side as he glared at him._

"_I'll get you….I'll get you and take the sword of the Thunder God back. That's my sword! Not yours!"_

_He jumped off and left a trail of blood behind._

* * *

_Yugito silently watched as Bakuto reverted back. _

_She was amazed that he took a hit for her. He never did that for anyone, let alone a teammate._

_Realizing that he took a hit for her, she quickly got to her feet and ran to Bakuto's side._

"_Bakuto!" she cried. "Are you alright?"_

_She slid next to him and went to examine his wounds._

_Bakuto pulled her hand away._

"_It's nothing. I'm fine"_

_Yugito blushed and pulled her hand away._

_She gripped the sword of the thunder god in her hands for a moment before handing it to Bakuto._

"_Here. You fought him, you earned it"_

_Bakuto looked at it for a moment before pushing it back towards her._

"_You were the one who managed to get it out of his hands. You take it"_

_Yugito nodded._

_She looked at the ground for a moment before looking at him through his bangs._

"_Bakuto?"_

"_What?"_

"_I was wondering" She bit her lip. _

"_Um…why …did you save me?"_

_She didn't understand. He was supposedly the most coldest person in Kumogakure. He cared about no one and no one cared about him. So why did he risk his life for her? The holder of the two tailed cat?_

_She was surprised when he gave her a grin._

"_I wasn't about to let a girl get hit like that. It's against my nature"_

_That didn't take care of her curiousness. _

"_But you usually work with girls, and you never take a hit for them. Why am I so different?"_

_Bakuto looked away from her. He had a light blush dust across his._

"_Because I like you" he mumbled._

"_What? I couldn't hear you"_

"_Because I like you" he said a little louder._

"_I still can't hear you"_

"_BECAUSE I LIKE YOU!!!!!"_

_His face was beat red at this point. He had finally told his biggest secret in front of the girl he had a crush on._

_Yugito blinked a couple of times. She didn't believe what she was hearing._

"_You…like me?"_

_This was too good to be true._

_Bakuto nodded like an idiot._

"_I've always liked you. You were the first person to ever notice the real me and not shun me away. I didn't know how to respond to this, so I just acted cold. It was the only way that I could act like myself and not look like an idiot"_

_He finally looked at her._

_His usually cold eyes held a gentle look to them as he looked at her. This was a side of Bakuto that no one ever saw, and she was given the privilege to see this._

_She felt her face heat up when she felt him kiss her forehead._

_The man that she was madly in love with was actually kissing her. It was like a dream come true._

_She just couldn't help herself a squealed like a fan girl._

"_You like me!!" She cried._

_She got up and started jumping around._

"_You like me! You like me! You like me!"_

_She was grinning from ear to ear. _

"_This has got to be a dream come true!"_

_She turned to Bakuto and pulled into a big hug._

"_You just made me the most happiest woman alive!"_

_Bakuto hugged her back awkwardly since he wasn't used to this kind of thing._

_She pulled back after a while and held his hand._

"_Come on. The check point is just right up ahead"_

_She pulled him with a slight skip in her step. This day couldn't get any better._

"_Hey, Yugito"_

_She turned around to look at Bakuto who had a blush on his face._

"_What you said before…about going out when these exams are over….I was thinking we could go out to dinner or something"_

_That did._

_She looked up at the skies._

'_I love these exams!'_

_End Flashback_

* * *

"And the rest is history"

Mikomi was very surprised. She didn't think that Bakuto could have a soft side.

"Wow. I guess I learned something new about Bakuto"

An evil grin covered her face.

"Now I have something to blackmail him with"

Yugito laughed at her friend.

"I knew you would say something like that"

Bakuto came back with cans of tea in hand.

"What are you doing back, Bakuto?"

"It's humid out so I figured you would like something to drink. I know you hate hot weather since you have a cot Bijuu and all"

Yugito smiled sweetly at him.

"Thank you, Bakuto. That was so sweet of you"

Bakuto blushed and looked away.

"Don't mention it. I'm just trying to look out for you"

Mikomi snickered.

"And just what is so funny, stupid fox"

Mikomi shook her head.

"Oh, nothing. Yugito was just telling me about how you two became a couple"

"What?!"

Mikomi grinned evilly.

"And I just thought about all of the humiliation I'm going to put you through since I know about this little history of you. Now I know how you became whipped. I just knew your cold act was all fake"

A tick mark appeared on his forehead.

"He was about to say something when Yugito kissed him on the cheek. He immediately calmed down and sat next to Yugito for the remainder of the day.

Mikomi smirked as she looked at the two love birds. She had to admit, Bakuto did seem gentler when he was around his girl.

"_I guess there are some things that I still don't know about him"_ She thought.

She closed her eyes and listened as Jiraiya lectured Naruto about how to summon a frog properly.

This turned out to be a very interesting day indeed.

* * *

**A/N: So now we know how Yugito and Bakuto became a couple. Now Mikomi has some blackmail that she can use against him. What a sneaky little fox she is. Since Naruto is learning how to summon, why not show him how to summon the final fantasy way? I'll place bets for whoever gets the right summons for the OC characters. If you get them right, you get a chapter dedicated to you. Remember to send in those reviews to help with my new year resolution.**

**Ja ne**


	34. Summoning Final Fantasy Style!

Chapter 34: Summoning Final Fantasy Style

**A/N: Hey everyone! As the title says, everyone is going to learn how to summon the Final Fantasy way. I'm sure everyone is dying to find out which summon will be summoned by while oc. Some may be obvious while others I'm sure you're going to be surprised. You'll just have to read to find out. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

* * *

_One week later_

Naruto wasn't making much progress with his training with Jiraiya. He was able to summon something other than a tadpole, but his frogs still had a little tail.

Jiraiya was on the verge of killing himself at this point, but he had to remember that he promised Minato that he would help his children with their training.

He just didn't realize that Naruto was brain damaged when it came to summoning a simple frog.

Seeing that he wasn't making any progress, he decided to ask help from someone else.

* * *

"You want me to what?"

Jiraiya was on his hands and knees as he bowed to Cloud.

"I asked if you could teach Naruto to summon. He listens to you better than he does with me and I'm sure Yuri taught you how to summon"

While Jiraiya was teaching Naruto, Yuri thought it would be a good idea if AVALANCHE learned how to summon ninja style.

It wasn't as hard as they thought it would be. They just had to summon like they would with a materia. Learning how to perform these jutsus were like performing materia techniques, you just had to know what you were doing if you wanted to perform the technique right.

Cloud just looked at Jiraiya dully. He highly doubted that he would do a better job in training Naruto than the pervert. He wasn't really cut out for teaching anything.

"I don't know. I'm not really fit for teaching anything to anyone, let alone a 13 year old hyper boy"

Jiraiya gripped Cloud's leg.

"Please Cloud! You have to help me! I'll do anything! Anything!"

He suddenly got into his face.

"I'll even teach you a jutsu that the fourth Hokage created"

Cloud pushed him away from his face.

"Ok. One: Don't get so close to my face like that again. Two: Bribing me like that won't get you anywhere. Just teach Naruto how to summon; you've been doing it for at least two weeks now"

"I'm not getting anywhere with that kid! I've tried everywhere to make him understand, but nothing seems to work! Naruto listens to you more, you teach him"

He had a pathetic look on his face as he kept begging.

"Please Cloud"

"No"

Mikomi walked in the room to see Jiraiya on his knees.

"What's going on?"  
"Jiraiya wants me to teach Naruto how to summon since he can't get anywhere with him"

Mikomi put her hands on her hips.

"Jiraiya, you know family members aren't allowed to help out. You need to teach him since we made a deal"

"But I haven't been getting anywhere with him,and Cloud isn't family"

"Yes he is" Yuri said as she came into the room.

"Cloud is pretty much a big brother to those two. Everyone in AVALANCE as well as Bakuto and Yugito are members of this family. They helped raise Naruto and Mikomi for nearly half a year and that means they have the right to be a part of this family"

Mikomi smirked. Leave it to Yuri to chew Jiraiya out.

Jiraiya made a face.

"Ok then. That still doesn't change the fact that I want him to train Naruto"

"And that still doesn't mean that I'll do it" Cloud retorted.

"Oh yeah? Then watch this"

Jiraiya looked at Naruto, who was watching TV at the moment.

"Naruto"

The boy didn't pay any attention to him and kept on watching.

"Naruto"

Still no answer.

Jiraiya looked at Cloud and made a motion for him to try.

The blonde rolled his eyes and looked at his little brother.

"Naruto"

The boy turned around as he heard his brother.

"Yeah, Ni-san?"

Cloud just made a face as Jiraiya patted him.

"He's all yours"

With that, he got up and went to the hot springs for his research.

Mikomi snickered at the look on Cloud's face. The blonde just sent her a dirty look and turned around to see Naruto right next to him.

"Are you going to teach me how to summon, Ni-san?"

"It would seem that way"

The young boy cheered.

"Cool! I know you'll be a better teacher than Pervy Sage. He never teaches me anything, he only looks at the girls swimming near the lake and nothing else"

Yuri's eyes narrowed.

"Oh really?"

She stalked off to find her perverted cousin with the intent of giving him a serious beating.

"Oh Jiraiya"

Cloud sighed. This family was really getting to him.

Naruto bounced on his feet.

"So, how are you going to teach me to summon, Ni-san? Do you know how to do it ninja style?"

"Yeah, but from what Jiraiya was telling me, you're having a lot of trouble doing it that way, so I'll have to show you another way"

Naruto tilted his head to the side.

"How?"

Cloud managed to let a smirk spread across his face.

"I'm sure a certain Wutai would be more than willing to help"

* * *

Yuffie was jumping up and down with excitement.

"Oh! I'm so excited! You guys are finally seeing how wonderful using materia really is!"

Cloud rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah, yeah. Did you bring the materia that I asked for?"

Yuffie gave a mock salute.

"I sure did!"

She pulled out a chest that was filled with summoning materia. The orbs glowed brightly when Yuffie opened the chest.

Yuri looked amazed.

"Wow, it's like seeing Christmas"

Mikomi sweat dropped at her statement. Bakuto just put his hand in his face.

"I'm living with a bunch of morons" he muttered.

Naruto picked up one of the materia's.

He knew what these were. He remembered when he first tried one out.

_Flashback_

_Naruto picked up a materia that was lying around._

"_What's this, Ni-san?"_

_Cloud looked at him then at the materia._

"_It's a fire materia" he said._

"_That's something that's from our world. We use it to fight monsters. Think of it as a big ball of chakra"_

"_Oh"_

_Naruto looked at the materia in his hands._

"_Chakra huh? Then I guess you need to use chakra in order for this to work. In that case"_

_He gathered up his chakra and sent it to the orb. _

_Cloud's eyes went wide._

"_Wait! Don't do-"_

_KABOOM!_

_End flashback_

Naruto sweat dropped at the memory. He got a serious beating after that. Cloud wouldn't let him near any of the materia after that. Yuffie would always hiss at him when he got too close to it.

Why Cloud was allowing him to use materia now was beyond him.

"I thought I wasn't allowed to use the materia?"

"I decided it would be alright to use for your training" Cloud said.

"Since you're having trouble with your summoning practice, I thought that this might help"

He picked up a random materia.

"We can summon back on our world as well. We use materia though. I figured that if you learned how to summon our way, then maybe it would help you summon the ninja way"

He threw the materia that was in his hand to Mikomi.

"You should learn how to summon like us too"

Mikomi's eyes lit up.

"Really? Woo Hoo!"

Cloud picked a few more materia and gave them to Yuri, Bakuto and Yugito.

"Since you're part of the team as well, you might as well too"

Yuri and Yugito cheered.

"We should give one to Jiraiya too" Yuri said.

"He's part of the team as well"

"And Kakashi" Mikomi added.

A tick mark appeared on Cloud's head.

"Why would I give one to that stupid scarecrow?"

"Because he's helped you with your jutsu training and he's not stupid"

Cloud grumbled and just gave her a materia.

"Fine. Call that stupid friend of yours"

Mikomi beamed and sent a ninja dog to go get her crush.

Bakuto looked at his materia.

"This is either going to end well or bad" he said to himself.

Kakashi and Jiraiya came moments later.

"Hey, Mikomi. You called us?" Kakashi asked.

Mikomi nodded and avoided eye contact with him.

"Cloud was going to show us how to summon with materia and I thought you would like to join"

Kakashi's eye curled up to show that he was smiling.

"That's sweet of you. Thanks"

Mikomi went red and hid behind Kyoko.

Jiraiya grinned at Cloud.

"So you're really going to train Naruto? I knew I would rub off on you"

"Get real you hermit. I'm only doing this because I found out someone wasn't really training Naruto and was spending his time looking at girls swimming. Now what kind of teacher would do something like that?"

Jiraiya gulped as Yuri glared at him. He suffered her wrath earlier that day.

"N-now now. Let's get back to the learning part. Naruto won't learn how to summon by doing nothing"

Cloud rolled his eyes and went back to the heart of the matter.

"Ok then. Since Jiraiya can't train anyone for crap, I'll be taking over the summoning portion"

He held up the materia in his hand.

"Summoning by materia is as easy as riding a bike. Even a 5 year old can pull this off. All you really have to do is focus your energy into the orb and try to bring your summon out. It may take a few tries, but I'm sure you're all smart enough to pull this off"

Mikomi looked at her materia in wonder.

"_I wonder what creature I'll be summoning?"_

"You won't know unless you try" Usagi said

Mikomi concentrated on the materia in her hand and tried to bring her summoning beast out. She tried it for a few good minutes, but nothing happened.

"_It's not working"_

"_You need to summon it with your heart" _Aerith said.

"_Let it know why you want to summon it and it'll listen to you"_

Mikomi grinned at her friend.

"_Thanks, Aerith"_

She tried again and poured her heart and soul into the tiny orb.

"_Please help me. I need your help so I can protect my younger brother. He's all I have left of my parents and I can't lose him. Will you lend me your strength?"_

She felt the materia vibrate in her hand and glowed brightly.

"_Your wish is my command" _a voice said.

Mikomi was thrown back as a creature came out of the materia.

A horse with six legs trotted around with its master riding on the back.

Mikomi was amazed as the warrior got off his horse and bowed before her.

"Are you the one who summoned for me?"

Mikomi nodded like an idiot as the warrior grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"I am the mighty warrior, Odin. If you are ever in trouble, just call me and I shall be right there"

He got back on his horse and held up his sword. The horse rose on its hind feet and neighed loudly as they went back into the materia.

Mikomi just looked at the orb as it rolled to her feet. She picked it up and looked at it dumbly.

"Well that was weird"

Yuffie jumped up and down.

"Woo Hoo! Way to go, Komi-chan! You got Odin? He totally fits you"

Cloud grinned at her proudly.

"Nicely done, Mikomi"

He looked at the rest of the group.

"Since Mikomi was able to do it, then that means you should too. We're not leaving until I see some summons around here"

Naruto was all fired up from watching his sister.

"Oh boy. I just know I'll have a cool summon. I wonder what it will be?"

He went back to trying to call his summon.

Everyone did the same and called their summoning ally.

* * *

2 Hours later.

Mikomi sat underneath a tree with Cloud next to him.

Bakuto, Yugito and Kakashi managed to bring their summons out moments after she did.

Bakuto had the mighty Zero Bahamut.

Yugito had the deadly Hades.

And Kakashi had the all knowing Ramuh.

Overall, they all fit with their masters perfectly.

"This was a good idea, Cloud" Mikomi said

Yuffie nodded in agreement.

"You should become a sensei like Kakashi"

Cloud scolded at that.

"I don't want to be anything like that scarecrow"

Mikomi got angry at that.

"Hey! What's so bad about Kakashi? He's never done anything to you"

"I just don't like him"

"That's not a good reason!"

The two bickered like any brother and sister would. Yuffie snickered as she watched them fighting.

* * *

"Hey Ni-san!"

Naruto ran up to Cloud.

"Ni-san, I did it! I managed to summon!"

Cloud grinned at the boy.

"Way to go, Naruto. I'm very proud"

"Good Job, Naruto" Mikomi said.

"Who did you get?" Yuffie asked.

"Well, I got this fire guy named Iflet? Ifret?"

"IFRIT?!" Cloud and Yuffie shouted

"Yeah! That's the one!"

Yuffie gulped while Cloud looked like he saw a ghost.

Ifrit was bad news. He was a crazy dare devil who didn't listen to anyone and wrecked everything in sight.

Cloud held out his hand to him.

"W-why don't you let me hold on to that? You know you tend to lose things and we wouldn't want you to lose this"

"You're right. Here you go"

He plopped it into his hand and went off to see Jiraiya summoning Leviathan.

Cloud pocketed the materia.

"He is never to get his hands on this, understood?"

Both girls nodded. Mikomi didn't know what was going on, but she went with it.

Yuri finally summoned her ally and was partnered up with the famous Ice Dive, Shiva. (A/N: She'll look like the one from FFX since that's my favorite version and because it'll work well with Yuri)

Jiraiya's eye popped out when he saw the ice beauty and immediately pulled a move on her.

"Hey baby, how about you and me go out to get a drink when this is over?"

Shiva gave him a disgusted look and bitch slapped him.

"Ice dust!"

Jiraiya was covered in a pillar of thick ice.

Mikomi laughed as she looked at her godfather.

Yuri patted her summon on the shoulder,

"I believe this is going to be a beautiful friendship"

Jiraiya shivered as Kakashi and Bakuto tried to chip the ice away.

* * *

Later that night.

"That was awesome!" Naruto beamed.

He sat next to Cloud as they watched TV.

"You were so cool teaching me how to summon! I want you to be my teacher from now on!"

Cloud saw Jiraiya make a face. He may not like the guy really much, but the pervert deserved a chance.

"Listen Naruto. I appreciate it that you want me as your teacher, but Jiraiya is suppose to be teaching you"

Naruto made a face.

"But he doesn't do anything. He just looks at girls while I struggle to summon a frog"

"I'll admit that he shouldn't be doing that, but you need to give him a chance. You don't know him well like you do with us, but remember, we were just like him when we first met you. You need to give him time to warm up to you before you can judge him. It wouldn't be fair if you just rejected him right away. Alright?"

Naruto just pouted but nodded.

"Fine. But will you still teach me some new tricks too? It's fun being with you and I want to spend more time with my big brother"

Cloud cracked a grin at him.

"Of course I can, you knuckle head"

He ruffled his hair a bit.

Naruto giggled and hugged his arm.

"You're the coolest brother ever, Ni-san"

Cloud placed a hand on his head.

"Thanks Naruto"

Jiraiya was all teary eyed as he saw this.

Not only did this give him a second chance to be a better godfather and teacher, but it also gave him an idea for his newest story.

* * *

Next day.

"Alright, Kid. Today we're getting serious with this training! No more horsing around!"

Naruto cheered as Jiraiya finally decided to stop looking at the girls and focused more on him.

Now he would finally be able to summon a frog.

"But just remember, kid. I'm not going to go easy on you. If you want to summon a frog, then you're gonna have to earn it"

Naruto gave him a mock salute.

"Yes sir!"

"Now let's get this party started!"  
The two went all out as they practiced summoning. It wasn't as good as Cloud's training, but then again, Jiraiya wasn't good at explaining things without involving girls.

If Naruto was going to summon a frog then Jiraiya would have to do something drastic.

It would be dangerous, but not as dangerous as when he would tell Yuri and Mikomi what he planned to do.

Women could be far more scarier than any life threatening mission. Even more scarier than the nine tailed fox.

* * *

**A/N: There you go. Mikomi and her gang can summon like Cloud.**

**Since I forgot to mention AVALANCHE'S ninja summons, I'll just post them down right here.**

**Cloud- Eagles, Wolves**

**Tifa- Panther**

**Yuffie- Monkey (She stole Sarutobi's summoning contract)**

**Barret- Bears**

**Vincent –Dogs (special kinds, like Cerberus)**

**Cid- Crab**

**I hope that fits them well, it was so hard trying to find the right ones.**

**I wonder what Jiraiya has up his sleeve? It can't be good if he's dreading Yuri and Mikomi's reaction. And what is the title to his new book that he's going to write about Mikomi and her friends? I'll give you a cookie if you guess correctly, and no, it is not a Make-Out Paradise book, it'll be a nice book that he wanted to make for his goddaughter. I'll let you decide.**

**Remember to send your reviews. I live off of them.**

**Until then,**

**JA ne**


	35. Turn the key

Chapter 35: Turn the Key

**A/N: Hey everyone, I'm back with another chapter for you. Jiraiya is going to do something stupid with Naruto's training and Mikomi is going to kill him. Just what is that pervert thinking?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

* * *

If there was one thing that scared Jiraiya, it was his cousin's temper. Yuri could be so unpredictable when it came to her moods that it would give him whip lash. Being a former Yankee didn't make matters better either. When she got mad, she was unstoppable.

Mikomi was no different either. She inherited Kushina's bad temper and she wasn't afraid to show it. She might have acted like Minato most of the time, but when she was mad, she turned into Kushina.

Combing these two forces were a bad combo. Death would reek off of them. Only an idiot would want to upset them.

And that was the reason why Jiraiya dreaded talking to them.

He finally realized why Naruto sucked at summoning frogs. In order to pull off a summoning, a ninja must use a lot of chakra to bring forth their ally. Since Naruto was still a Genin, he didn't have that much chakra. Any regular ninja would probably kill themselves from trying to summon over and over again. But that was where Naruto was different from the average ninja. He had the nine tailed fox sealed within him and that meant he had an ass load of chakra sealed up within his body as well. The only problem was, he didn't know how to call forth for that chakra. It was obvious that Yuri put some extra seals on him so none of the fox's chakra could leak out.

"_Typical Yuri"_

That was good in a way, but that didn't help him with his plans. He had to make Naruto summon up the nine tailed fox's chakra otherwise; he wouldn't be able to summon a frog.

He knew what he was going to do was wrong, but he wanted to help his godson. And the only way to do that was to let Yuri and Mikomi know what he had in stored. He would rather be watching men bathe than face the wrath of two angry females.

He loved them deeply, but he preferred to live more.

Sometimes, being a godfather and a teacher really sucked big time.

* * *

Jiraiya gulped nervously as he approached the two females of his family. He didn't know why he was sweating over this. He was one of the legendary Sanin, he wasn't afraid of anything. So why all of a sudden was he afraid to talk to the two members of his family?

A man would say that he wasn't afraid of anything. WORNG! Men were afraid of one thing only: females.

That's what Jiraiya thought as he got closer to Mikomi and Yuri.

He didn't know what mood they were in, but he knew they would change very fast after he told them his plans.

He silently studied them to detect any negative moods coming off of them.

They weren't doing much except talking with Cloud, Tifa and Bakuto.

Mikomi seemed to laugh at a joke Tifa told her while Yuri smiled as she told Cloud and Bakuto about her days as a Yankee.

The girls looked fine, but the guys looked like they were about to throw up from the gory details that Yuri was giving them.

He nervously walked up to them and cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"Oh hey, Jiraiya" Mikomi said. "What brings you here?"

Yuri downed a bottle of sake.

"You're just in time to hear one of my days as a Yankee. I was just telling Cloud and Bakuto about the time when I was at a bar that I had to use my beer bottle as a weapon. Man that was so much fun, just slashing at their throats with broken glass. Those were the good old days"

Jiraiya gulped.

"A-actually, I-I wanted to discuss about Naruto's training"

Mikomi's face lit up to that.

"Oh really? How is he doing?"

Jiraiya rubbed his head.

"Well…not so good. He can't summon a frog without a tail. And since the exams are going to be starting in a few days, that's not good"

Mikomi's smile fell.

"Oh"

"But…I did come up with a way that could speed up Naruto's training"

"Really?!"

"Yep. But I'm just worried that you might take it the wrong way. What I'm about to do will be dangerous"

Mikomi waved him off.

"Please. You're the best teacher in this village. I'm sure your idea isn't that drastic"

Yuri nodded.

"Yeah, I mean… it's not like you're going to do anything that could threaten his life or anything, right?"

"_No, but I'm probably threatening mine right now" _He thought.

"So what do you have in mind?" Tifa asked.

She was curious as were the guys, but it was mainly because they wanted to clear their minds of the story that Yuri just told him.

Jiraiya tool a deep breath and willed himself to stay calm.

"_Just remember, Jiraiya. You're a guy and you can take these girls down. There's nothing to worry about"_

"Naruto needs to use the nine tailed fox's chakra and I need you to weaken the seal" He said quickly.

Nobody said anything for a moment. Mikomi and Yuri still wore the care free expressions on their faces as they looked at him.

Jiraiya sighed. Maybe this didn't go as bad as he thought he would.

But that all changed when he found himself pinned to the ground with Mikomi's hands wrapped around his throat. Her eyes were bright red, showing that Usagi was on the verge of showing up any second now.

"You want to do what?!" she hissed.

Jiraiya struggle to say something through the tight hold Mikomi had on his throat.

"N-Naruto needs to use the N-nine tailed fox's c-chakra a-and I need you to w-weaken the s-seal" he rasped.

Yuri broke her sake bottle and pointed to sharp glass to his face.

"I'll fucking kill you!" she screeched.

Cloud and Tifa were confused on this matter, but Bakuto knew what was going on.

"Are you out of your fucking mind!?"

"What the hell are you thinking, Jiraiya!?" Mikomi snapped.

Jiraiya pulled her hands away so he could breathe better.

"It's the only for Naruto to summon a frog" he retorted. "He's getting nowhere with the amount of chakra he has now. If he uses the nine tailed fox's chakra, then he'll be able to summon like it was Childs play"  
Yuri inched the broken bottle to his face.

"No way! Minato sealed the nine tailed fox away so no one could get hurt. If you let Naruto use the nine tailed fox's chakra then there's a 99.9% chance that the fox will take this as an opportunity to take control over Naruto and break the seal completely"

Mikomi shook him like a rag doll.

"What in god's name gave you this crazy idea? You know as well as I do that using Jinchuriki chakra is very dangerous"

Jiraiya finally managed to pull her hands off.

"He needs to know! If your father sealed the fox inside your brother, then why should he let that power go to waste? You use Usagi's powers and I'm sure Bakuto and Yugito use their Jinchuriki powers. Naruto needs to know how to control his chakra better and controlling the fox's chakra is the best way to do it"

Tifa turned to Bakuto for answers.

"What's going on?" she whispered.

Bakuto had a grim expression.

"Apparently, the pervert wants to weaken Naruto's seal so he can use the nine tailed fox's powers"

"Is that bad?"

"It depends. Sure, you get amazing power, but you also suffer the possibility of having the seal breaking completely and having the Bijuu set free. It's very dangerous using your Bijuu's chakra. I hardly use Taimat's chakra because I don't want to risk the chance of my seal being broken. I'm sure Mikomi's is the same"

Tifa didn't know what to say. This almost sounded when Vincent would lose control over Chaos. It was a scary thing to watch. Just thinking about that happening to Mikomi or Naruto terrified her. No one should suffer like that.

She listened as Mikomi and Yuri argued with Jiraiya some more.

* * *

"You are clearly out of your god damn mind!" Yuri cried.

"You know as well as I do that Minato put that seal on Naruto for his own protection. If he tries to control the fox's chakra, then who knows what could happen to him!"

"I understand that clearly, Yuri. But Naruto needs to learn the facts. He's not a normal kid, he has a demon sleeping within him and he needs to know how to control it better. If he doesn't, then that fox is going to take over his body before you know it"

"And having him use the fox's chakra is going to solve everything? The nine tailed fox is going to use that to lure him within his grasp then BOOM! He controls Naruto's body"

"That's not going to happen unless he knows what he's doing"

"He doesn't even know how to use Jinchuriki chakra! It's dangerous even for Mikomi when she uses it!"

Mikomi nodded.

"I don't want to lose my brother over loss of control. Surly there's another way for him to summon?"

"There is no other way. The Finals start in a few days and he hasn't even summoned a frog yet. IF you want him to pass these exams, then you have to swallow your pride and let me do this. I promise nothing will happen to him, I swear to you as your godfather"

* * *

Mikomi bit her lip. She didn't know what to do anymore. She knew right away that she didn't want Naruto using the nine tailed fox's chakra, that demon was evil. He wanted to kill while Usagi wanted to protect. There was a difference between her Jinchuriki and Naruto's. Just the thought of losing her brother to that monster set her on edge. She already lost her parents to that beast; she didn't want to lose her brother to it as well.

Even though she was totally against it, she knew Jiraiya was planning on going along with his plans. Like Yuri, he couldn't take no for an answer.

She suddenly stood up, her hair covering her face.

She tried really hard to stop the tears that threatened to fall.

"You're going to do this, even if we say no, are you?"

Jiriaya's face was grim.

"I know this is wrong, but it's the only way. I'm not thrilled with this idea, but Naruto needs to learn how control his Bijuu before it controls him. You just have to trust me on this, Mikomi. I promise I won't let anything bad happen to him, I swear"

Mikomi clenched her teeth to the point where she thought they would crack.

Tears ran down her face as she looked at her godfather.

"If I lose my brother to your selfish acts, then I'll never consider you as my godfather"

She stormed off as she covered her face with her arm.

* * *

Yuri glared at her cousin.

"Now look what you've done. You made her cry"

"Me? I didn't do anything to her"

"You're threatening Naruto's life, that's more than enough!"

Tifa nudged Cloud in the arm and motioned for him to leave. The blonde caught on and silently stood up and followed Tifa.

Bakuto followed after and gave Jiraiya a sour stare.

"Dumb ass" he muttered as he left.

They didn't need to listen to a couple of adults arguing. They had an upset Jinchuriki that needed them more.

* * *

Yuri was still glaring at her cousin as she pulled the bottle away from him.

Jiraiya sat up and rubbed his neck from where Mikomi held him down. She sure had a grip on her, he had to admit that.

He looked at his cousin wearily as she continued to glare at him.

"Stop looking at me like that, will ya?"

Yuri just growled at him.

"You've got a lot of nerves to be pulling this on Naruto and Mikomi"

Jiraiya rubbed the back of his neck.

"You think I like this idea?" he asked.

"You must if you're so persistent on letting this happen"

"I'm only doing this to help Naruto become stronger"

"By sending him to his death? You must be high or something"

"He needs to know how to control the nine tailed fox. Mikomi knows how to control Usagi, so he should learn too"

"Usagi was willing to lend her powers. The nine tailed fox would rather drop dead than let a 13 year old boy use his powers"

Trust me, with my plans, that fox will have no choice but to comply. Just remember that Naruto's life is his life as well. If Naruto were to die, so would the nine tailed fox"

Yuri narrowed her eyes at him.

"What are you up to?"

Jiraiya gave off a mysterious grin.

"I'm going to set up a simulation where it would seem that Naruto was on the brink of death. The nine tailed fox would have no choice but to loan his powers if he wants to live. I'm simply giving Naruto a little 'push' in his training"  
Yuri crossed her arms across her chest.

"You mean to tell me that you're threatening my godson's life just so he can use the nine tailed fox's chakra better?"

"Pretty much, yeah"

Yuri let out a weary sigh.

"That's typical you"

Her angry expression faded.

"But you know what you're doing"

She stood up and pulled Jiraiya to his feet.

"Fine then, I'll let you continue with your plan. But mark my words, if anything happens to Naruto, I'll make sure you'll be seeing Minato and Kushina faster than you can say Konoha, you hear?"

Jiraiya gave her a mock salute.

"Loud and clear, Yuri"

Yuri shook her head and walked away.

"I suggest you take care of Mikomi before you do anything else. She's really emotionally attached to Naruto and if anything were to happen to him, she would just lose it"

Her face went grim.

"You remember what she tried to do after Minato and Kushina died, right?"

Jiraiya suppressed a groan.

That day was considered a nightmare to him.

"If you plan to go with your plans, then keep in mind of what the outcomes might me"

Yuri walked away and went to tend to Mikomi.

Jiraiya was left there in his own thoughts as he contemplated about his plans.

He just hoped that what he did was the right thing and that Naruto would live through this.

Otherwise, he would lose not one godchild, but two.

* * *

**A/N: Oh the suspense! Just what could have happened to Mikomi that has tormented Yuri and Jiraiya all these years? Only time will tell. In the mean time, what does Jiraiya have in mind with Naruto's training? Perhaps will see the famous chief toad in the next chapter? **

**Remember to send in your reviews. I need them if I wish to accomplish my New Year's Resolution.**


	36. Gamabunta

Chapter 36: Gamabunta

**A/N: Hello everyone! As you can tell by the title, the chief toad will make his appearance! It'll be a little family reunion for Mikomi and her father's summon. **

**I'm proud to say that I'm almost at the 100 reviews mark! Thanks everyone, you've been a real help!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

**Enjoy!**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

* * *

Naruto looked at his surroundings skeptically. Jiraiya told him that for his final day of training, he would have to meet him at some cliff.

He thought it was a little fishy, but since Cloud and Mikomi were with him, then it must have been alright.

Mikomi refused to let Jiraiya continue with his plans without her. If he was planning on killing her brother, then she wanted to be there so she could stop him. Cloud came with as well for that reason and because he still didn't trust Jiraiya around Mikomi.

Jiraiya arrived moments later and faced Naruto.

"Ok, Kid. Today is your last day of training. Today you'll either finally summon a toad or you'll end up failing. You need to put your whole heart into this training; you don't have a next time"

Naruto nodded.

"Don't worry; I got this one in the bag!"

"Let's hope you do"

Naruto turned to his brother and sister and gave them a huge grin.

"Just you wait! I'll finally summon a toad for you guys. Wish me luck!"

Mikomi gave her brother a soft smile.

"Good luck, Naruto"

Cloud gave him a slight thumbs up.

"We know you can do it"

Naruto laughed and went over to Jiraiya.

"Alright, Pervy Sage! Let's get started!"

"Slow down, Kid. I want you to do a few warm ups before anything else. Can't having you cramp up during your training"

"You got it!"

He practiced summoning his chakra while Jiraiya went over to Cloud and Mikomi.

* * *

Mikomi didn't say anything to Jiraiya when he came over. She had not said a word to him since he told her about his plans. He deserved the silent treatment from her.

Cloud just glared at the pervert. He wasn't thrilled with the idea either. Not to mention it took Tifa and him over an hour to get Mikomi to stop crying. Some godfather Jiraiya was.

"So today's the big day!" Jiraiya said.

He tried to lighten everyone's mood but it wasn't working.

"Come on, guys. You should be happy. Naruto is finally going to summon a toad today"

"Go fuck yourself, pervert" Cloud said.

Jiraiya made a face.

"What was that for?"

Cloud looked at Mikomi and motioned for her to leave for a second. She was happy to oblige and went over to help with Naruto's warm up.

When she was out of earshot, Cloud immediately chewed Jiraiya's ass out.

"Do you have any idea how long it took Tifa and I to make her stop crying?"

Jiraiya sweat dropped and rubbed his head.

"Well, I don't really know, but I'm assuming-"

"An hour! A whole fucking hour because you told her about your plans about threatening Naruto's life just so you can have him summon the nine tailed fox's chakra"

He got up to his face and made him feel uncomfortable.

"You've got a lot of nerve to pull something like this. What kind of Godfather are you? You're suppose to take care of Naruto and Mikomi, not try to kill them"

Jiraiya took a step back.

"Ok. Maybe my parenting skills aren't that great, but you have to cut me some slack. I haven't been with them for like 12 years, I don't know how to raise a 19 and 13 year old"

"Well that's odd since I seem to be doing a pretty good job and I haven't known them for at least a year. Maybe it's because you've spent most of your time writing trashy novels that you haven't paid attention to your own godchildren"

Jiraiya made a face and jabbed a finger at him.

"Hey! My books are famous! One of them is even being made into a movie!"

He quickly composed himself.

"Besides. I'm not really wasting my time writing books. I left for a reason"

"Oh really? What could be so important that you had to leave your godchildren?"

Jiraiya's face went grim.

"Wouldn't you like to know, bird brain?"

Cloud didn't falter back, but just push forward. It amazed Jiraiya how much he looked like Minato at this moment.

"I should know. I'm responsible for those two, and I want to know why you promised Minato that you would protect them when he died and instead left the village?"

"That is where you have it all wrong" Jiraiya said seriously.

"I was protecting them, but not the way you're thinking. Someone was out to get Mikomi and I had to find out who. Even Yuri knew what was going on and she was fine with it"

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Someone was after Mikomi?"

Jiraiya nodded.

"And they still are"

"They?"

Mikomi came over before Jiraiya could say anymore.

"Naruto is ready when you are" she said in an emotionless voice.

Jiraiya gave Cloud a look that told him he would talk later. He quickly grinned at Mikomi and patted her on the back.

"Thanks, Mikomi. I really appreciate it"

Mikomi just shrugged him away and went over to Cloud. The blonde placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. Jiraiya's face fell. He really wished the Mikomi wouldn't act this way, but then again, this was his fault. If he wanted her to talk to him again, he would have to fix this situation up. He just hoped his plan would work.

He just nodded to Mikomi and went over to Naruto to explain everything to him.

* * *

Mikomi sighed when Jiraiya left. She felt bad that she treated him that way, but she was mad at him for the moment.

He knew that Naruto was everything to her, so why would he pull a stunt like this?

Cloud patted her on the shoulder.

"Relax; I'm sure Naruto will live through this. He's too stubborn to die"

A grin managed to find its way on her face.

"I know. But just the thought of Jiraiya pulling this stunt makes me upset. Why would he do this to me?"

"Who knows? Perhaps he has a plan and he knows what he's doing?"

Mikomi gave him a look.

"Or he could be doing something stupid and he has no idea what he's doing"

That was better.

She just looked at her brother as Jiraiya 'explained' the situation he was about to be put in.

She just hoped that Naruto would be alright after all of this went down.

* * *

Jiraiya was very vague when he explained everything to Naruto. If he told what was to happen, then he would back out right away. He simply used big words and made sure he didn't understood what he was saying.

He took one glance at Mikomi and hoped that what he did wouldn't have her kill him.

"_Alright. It's go time"_

"Ok, now it's time to see ifthat special chakra of yours is really a gift or a curse"

Naruto looked at him dumbly.

"Huh?"

Jiraiya didn't say anything and simply pushed off the cliff with just his finger.

Naruto screamed as he fell down from the tall cliff.

* * *

Mikomi's eyes bugged when she was her brother get pushed off.

"What the hell are you doing?!" she shrieked.

She ran over to the cliff and fell to her knees when she reached the edge. The pit was so dark that she couldn't see her brother's orange coat.

"This is the only way that he'll be able to bring out the nine tailed fox's chakra out" Jiraiya said.

Mikomi growled deeply within her throat.

She whipped her head around and looked at him with blood red eyes.

"You" she growled.

Her hands started to grow claws as she stood up.

Jiraiya panicked and tried to get away, but Cloud got behind him and put him in a head lock.

"R-relax! I put safety nets at the bottom just in case he couldn't do it! I really wouldn't put my godson in danger like that!"

Mikomi didn't listen to him and just closed in on him.

"_I know I don't like using your chakra, Usagi. But I need it for this"_

"Go right ahead, Mikomi. Show that pervert what happens when you piss off the great Mikomi"

She held up her clawed.

"Hope you aren't too attached to your pretty face" she hissed.

Jiraiya backed away as best as he could with Cloud holding him down. His eyes never left her hand as she raised it high over her head then swiftly brought it down.

Closing his eyes tight, he waited for the impact that would mess him up, but it never came. Instead the sound of the ground rumbling beneath their feet stopped Mikomi from attacking her godfather.

"What the hell?"

She ran over to the cliff and peered down to see a giant toad wedged between the cliff walls.

"Oh my god" she breathed.

"He actually summoned!"

Cloud let Jiraiya go and ran over the cliff.

"Well I'll be damn, he actually did"

Jiraiya grinned over his success.

"I told it would work"

The two of them glared at the hermit.

"You stay out this. You're still in trouble with us"

Jiraiya just waved them off and peered down to see Naruto's progress.

When he caught sight of the toad, he paled.

"Oh crap"

"What?"

"Do you know who Naruto summoned?"

"No"

"Take a close look"

She did just that and noticed the familiar pipe sticking out of the toads' mouth. Only one toad was known to smoke a pipe and that was none other than Gamabunta.

"Oh"

Down below, Gamabunta's voice could be heard.

"What's this? Where in the world am I?"

Cloud didn't understand why Jiraiya and Mikomi were freaking out over a toad. Well, Jiraiya was, but Mikomi looked thrilled.

"Am I missing something?"

"Naruto summoned Gamabunta" Jiraiya said with dread.

"Who?"

"Gamabunta" Mikomi said. "He's the chief toad of toad summoning. It's almost impossible to summon him since he's so powerful. The last person who summoned him was…dad"

Her face fell at the mention of her father.

Jiraiya went to comfort her but stopped when he heard Gamabunta shouting.

"Where are you, Jiraiya?! I know you're there!"

The hermit paled and quickly grabbed Mikomi's arm and ran.

"Time to go!"

"Wait! Where are we going?"

"Somewhere where Bunta can't see us. If that toad sees me, then I'm a dead man"

"But he doesn't have anything against me! I want to see Bunta!"

"You'll see him later. Right now, Naruto needs to become Bunta's henchman before we can do anything"

Mikomi pouted and just let her godfather take her through the forest. Cloud leisurely followed after them.

"This whole ninja stuff is getting to my head"

* * *

When Jiraiya thought they were far enough, he let Mikomi go and sat on the tree branch that they landed on.

"That was a close one"

Mikomi just rolled her eyes.

"How can you be so afraid of Bunta? He didn't do anything to you"

"I know, but that toad hates me right about now"

He sighed.

"I summon him one time into a village that makes toad oil and he never forgives me. He has a memory like an elephant"

Cloud just raised an eyebrow and didn't say anything.

Mikomi sat on the branch and let her feet dangle.

She strained her neck to view the spot that her brother was at.

"I wonder if he'll be able to get back up?"

As if to answer her question, Bunta sprung up from the cliff.

"I'm saying that he might" Cloud said.

Gamabunta landed on the ground and created a shock wave so big that it nearly made Mikomi fall where they were at.

Mikomi had to use chakra to keep herself from falling.

"Help, somebody" she whimpered.

Jiraiya was too busy watching Naruto so Cloud had to help her.

"Thanks, Cloud" she mumbled.

He simply nodded and sent a glare in Jiraiya's direction.

"It looks like he reached to the top thanks to Gamabunta" he said to himself.

He pulled out a telescope that he brought with him. He was originally going to use this for his research, but he wanted to know how his godson was doing.

Sure enough, he saw Bunta reject Naruto and didn't see him as henchman material.

Naruto didn't like this and made a bet that if he could stay on his back until sunset, then he would have to accept him.

Now the boy was having a rodeo match with a giant toad.

This was going to be interesting.

* * *

Mikomi finally got herself comfortable on the branch when she felt the ground shake again.

"What the hell?"

She looked to see Bunta trying to shake Naruto off his head and acting like a wild bull.

"What is Bunta doing?"

"Trying to make sure that Naruto doesn't become his new henchman" Jiraiya said.

He laughed as he watched them through his telescope.

"This is getting interesting"

Just then, he heard female laughter below. Pulling a branch away, he saw some girls swimming near the water fall.

A perverted grin covered his face as he turned his attention to the girls.

"Sorry, Naruto. I'd love to help you, but I'm far too busy now"

He laughed as he muttered 'research' over and over again.

Mikomi rolled her eyes at her godfather's one track mind.

"I'm out of here" she muttered.

She jumped off the branch and landed on the ground.

She looked up at the branch that Jiraiya was still on and couldn't help but say:

"Nice parenting skills, Jiraiya"

Jiraiya was pulled out of his perverted world and realized that Mikomi was heading towards Bunta.

"Mikomi! Get back here! It's too dangerous!"

She just gave him the finger and kept on walking.

"Did you just give me the finger, young lady?"

"Give it up, old man" Cloud said. "You blew it"

He walked over to the edge.

"Why don't you get your act together and start being a better guardian. Yuri does a hell of a better job than you and she acts more childish"

He jumped off and went to catch up with Mikomi, leaving Jiraiya to ponder in his own thoughts.

* * *

Mikomi sighed as she got closer to Bunta. It had been years since she last saw the chief toad and she really missed him. He was her dad's favorite summon and for good reasons. Not only was he a skilled fighter, but he was always good for a laugh. She remembered when she was little that she would always slide down his back like he was a giant slide.

But the last time that she saw him was under grim circumstances. Back when the nine tailed fox attacked the village, her dad summoned him to fight the dreaded beast. That was a time that she wished that she didn't see her toad friend, he almost lost his life in that battle.

She was pulled out of her thoughts when she felt someone pat her head.

Turning around, she saw Cloud walking beside her.

"You ditched him too?"

He nodded.

She sighed deeply.

"I swear, he has a one track mind"

Cloud didn't say anything and just followed Mikomi as they got closer to Bunta.

It wasn't hard to find him since he was as big as a mountain. Not to mention they could tell where he went with all of the trees that he crush.

They simply followed the trial the toad made until they found him near the lake that was by the water fall.

It seemed that Bunta fail at trying to shake Naruto off of him so now he was trying to drown him.

"Well, this isn't good"

She climbed up a small cliff that was connected to the waterfall and saw Bunta jumping into the lake, causing a rainbow to form from all of the water that splashed up.

She pulled out the binoculars that she brought with and got a closer look of what was happening.

She couldn't help but laugh when she saw her brother.

"What's so funny?" Cloud asked.

Mikomi handed him the binoculars and let him see Naruto.

The poor boy was desperately handing onto Bunta's shirt and he swam real fast into the water, hoping he would slip off. The look on his face as he held on was priceless.

"Oh dear. It seems like Naruto's in agony"

They both turned to see Jiraiya standing next to them and looking out with his telescope.

"What are you doing here, old man? I thought you were doing your research?"" Cloud said.

Jiraiya made a face.

"I was…but I realized that you were right and that I should take my job as a godfather more seriously"

He pulled Mikomi into a big hug and cuddled her like Yuri would.

"Don't you worry, Mikomi. I know I haven't been the best guardian lately, but I'm going to change all of that just for you. We'll be bonding in no time!"  
Mikomi just made a face as Jiraiya continued to hug her. This was weird for Jiraiya to do. He wasn't the hugging type and now he was glomping her.

"He must be drunk" Usagi said.

That had to be it.

* * *

_Sunset_

Naruto still hung on, even as the sun started to fade. He was going to win this bet, no matter what even if it killed him.

Jiraiya watched carefully at the two.

Naruto was nearly out of chakra at this point and if he fell from Bunta, he needed to be ready to catch him.

Mikomi and Cloud were pretty much the same. They didn't think that Naruto would hold out this long but they knew he was going to drop any second now.

The boy was soaked at this point. Gamabunta kept swimming in the lake thinking that he would slip off, but to no avail. The boy stuck to him like glue.

"Face it chief toad! It's almost sunset and you'll have to give up!"

"Never!"

The toad sprung up and landed near the river that was connected to the water fall.

"No! That's where all the pretty ladies got to hang out!" Jiraiya cried.

Mikomi just ignored him and focused on his brother who was about to fall. Just when they thought that he was done for, he quickly summoned up a few shadow clones and used them to pull him up.

When he landed on Bunta's back, he was the sun falling behind the trees. Naruto won the bet.

"Yes! I won!"

He got up and did a little dance on Bunta's face.

"How do you like me now chief toad? I'm still on your back! That's right, I beat you!"

He laughed a little bit and passed out from exhaustion. He would have fallen off if Bunta didn't catch him.

* * *

Back on the cliff, Mikomi grinned proudly at her brother.

He managed to bet Bunta and make him his henchman. What more could a sister want?  
Cloud was proud was well, even though he didn't really know what was going on.

Jiraiya looked at the summoning scroll that he was carrying and handed it to Mikomi.

"I think it's safe to see Bunta now"

Mikomi's face lit up at that.

Jiraiya ruffled her hair.

"You go ahead and say hi. I'll meet you back at the house"

She nodded and grabbed Cloud's hand.

"Come on, Cloud. I want you to meet Bunta!"

The blonde just let her drag him down to the lake. He was too tired to really care at this point in time.

Jiraiya just chuckled as he walked away.

Perhaps now he could think about how to be a better godfather to her.

* * *

When they finally reached the lake, they saw Bunta just sitting there.

Mikomi's face lit up as she got closer to the toad.

"Bunta!"

The chief toad looked down and managed to grin when he saw the girl.

"I thought I felt a familiar chakra while I was fighting with this little snot. You sure have grown Mikomi"

Mikomi just giggled.

Cloud didn't say anything. Now that he saw how big Gamabunta was, he was starting apprehensive.

Bunta stuck his tongue for them to stand on.

"Come here, I want to see how big you've gotten"

They both carefully stepped on the tongue and held on as they were lifted to Bunta's eye sight.

"You sure grew up, Mikomi. You look just like your mother"

She blushed at the comment.

Bunta then eyed Cloud.

"And who might you be?"

Mikomi grabbed his arm.

"This is Cloud. He's a very dear friend of mine"

Cloud just waved.

"What's up?"

Bunta studied him more. He looked a lot like the Fourth Hokage in so many ways. He also looked a lot like the little snot that rode on his head all day.

He turned his gaze back to Mikomi.

"I take it that this little snot is your brother?" He indicated to the boy.

Mikomi nodded.

"You knew?"

"Yeah, I knew he was Minato's. I was going to make him my henchman right away; I just didn't want it to be that easy"

Mikomi giggled.

"That is so you, Bunta"

The toad just grinned then looked around the area.

"So where's Jiraiya? I felt his chakra earlier"

"He left. Said something about heading home"

"That coward"

Mikomi bent down and picked Naruto up.

"I might as well take him to the hospital. He must be out of chakra right about now"

"I'll give you a lift" Bunta said."It's too dark out for you to be walking out"

They all braced themselves as the toad jumped high into the air. Cloud and Mikomi had to use chakra to keep themselves rooted in place when Bunta landed in front of the hospital gates.

"There you go" Bunta said.

Mikomi slid down the toads back.

"Thanks Bunta"

Cloud followed her example with Naruto in tow.

Gamabunta gave them a back salute to them.

"Anytime. And remember Mikomi. If you're ever in trouble, I'll always be there to help"

With that he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When the smoke disappeared, Mikomi walked to the hospital.

"Alright, let's get him checked out"

Cloud placed Naruto on his back and followed her into the hospital.

As they walked, Mikomi couldn't help but remember the first time she meet Bunta.

_Flashback_

_Mikomi sat on a rock as she watched her dad training. She always loved it when she could tag along with him._

_Minato smiled as he saw the look in his daughter's eyes. She was practically jumping in her seat, waiting to see what he would perform next._

_She watched as he bit his thumb and did a few handsigns._

"_Summoning Jutsu!"_

_The whole area was filled with smoke. _

_Mikomi coughed a little and waved the smoke away from her face._

_When the smoke suddenly died down, she saw a toad that was as big as a mountain. _

_Her eyes bugged out as she looked at the toad._

_Minato laughed at his daughter's expression. _

"_Mikomi, I like you to meet Gamabunta"_

_Bunta looked at Minato._

"_Well, if it isn't Minato. It's been a while since I last saw you. How are things going?"_

"_Things are good. There's someone I want you to meet"_

_He motioned for his daughter to come over. She ran to him and clung to his leg. He picked her up and let her rest on his hip._

"_Bunta, this is my daughter, Mikomi"_

_Bunta lowered his head to where he could see her better. She shrunk back from the toads gaze as he looked at her. _

_The chief toad had heard from Jiraiya that his student adopted a little girl. He didn't realize how cute she was until he saw her. He had to admit that Minato was going to have his hands full when she was old enough to date. _

_He managed to give the girl a soft smile._

"_Hey, Mikomi? Do you like slides?"_

_She stuck her thumb in her mouth as she nodded. (A/N: She was 3 at the time)_

"_Well how would you like to go down the biggest slide in the whole world?"_

_Her eyes lit up at the idea. She nodded her head eagerly._

_Bunta chuckled and stuck his tongue out._

"_Well then, hop on"_

_Minato jumped on while he still held Mikomi. _

_The little girl squealed when they were lifted off the ground and onto Bunta's back._

"_Alrighty then, you two have fun"_

_Minato sat down on the toads head and placed Mikomi in his lap._

"_You ready, Mikomi?"_

_She nodded._

"_Ok then. Here we go!"_

_He pushed off and slid down the toad's giant back._

_Mikomi squealed and clapped her hands as they went down. It was like going down a giant roller coaster ride. Minato cheered as well as they went down all the way to the ground._

_Mikomi was jumping down when they got off._

"_Again! Again!"_

_Minato chuckled and picked her up._

"_Sorry, sweetie. But it's getting late. Your mom must be wondering where we are"_

_Mikomi's face fell._

"_Awww"_

_Minato turned back to Bunta._

"_Say thank you to Bunta, honey"_

_Mikomi looked at the chief toad._

"_Thanks you Mr. Bunta"_

_Gamabunta's laughed echoed throughout the village._

"_Just call me Bunta. If you ever want to play again, just give me a call, ok?"_

"_Ok"_

_He left in a cloud of smoke._

"_Ok, Mikomi. Let's go home"_

_She nodded and placed her head on his shoulder._

_Her eyes grew heavy from the day's events. It was so much fun. _

_The last thing she thought of before she went to sleep was that she hope that she would see the chief toad again soon,_

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it, another chapter. I know it was cheesy, but it's better than nothing.**

**Please send in those reviews and help with my New Year's Resolution. We're almost there.**

**Just for the heads up, I won't be updating this story for a tiny bit so I can work on my Bleach fanfics that I'm working on. (Sweat drops) Sorry.**

**Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter.**

**Ja ne**


	37. Insanity

Chapter 37: Insanity

**A/N: HI! I know I said I was going to work on my Bleach Fanfics, but let's just say that I couldn't come up with any ideas, so now I'm going to work on this story instead!**

**Also, I'm writing two side stories to this fanfics. They'll be called **_**Big Brother **_**and **_**When in Gaia**_**. Please check them out and tell me what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After Naruto summoned Gamabunta, he was stuck in the hospital for three days. And within those three days, Mikomi's role as a ninja was getting to best of her.

* * *

Mikomi's joy over her brother summoning Gamabunta was washed away from these past three. Three chaotically insane days of sheer madness and destruction. It all started the day after Naruto was put into the hospital.

_Three days ago:_

_Mikomi slammed the door shut when she came in. _

_She just got back from and Anbu mission and she was not happy. Myou came inside a few minutes later and looked at her captain worriedly._

"_Captain"_

_Mikomi didn't say anything as she flopped herself on the couch. She didn't even bother to remove her Anbu armor._

_Yuri came into the room._

"_Hey guys, how's it go-" _

_She took one look at her goddaughter knew something was up._

"_Jiraiya!"_

_The toad sage came from outside with Cloud in tow. _

_He was starting to get on better terms with the blond since he decided to take his role as Godfather more seriously._

"_What's up, Yuri? I was just training Cloud how to perform the Rasengan"_

_The medic just pointed to Mikomi._

"_Oh"_

_He walked over and sat on the coffee table._

_Mikomi looked at her godfather dully._

"_What?"_

"_What's with the long face?"_

_Mikomi covered her face with a pillow._

"_Nothing" she muffled through the fabric._

_Jiraiya crossed his arms over his chest._

"_Don't lie to me young lady. Something's up and I want to know what it is"_

_Mikomi removed the pillow from her face and gave him a weak glare._

"_Why should I tell you? It has nothing to do with you"_

"_As your godfather, it is my business. If something's bothering my goddaughter, I need to know so I can fix it"_

_He rubbed the back of his head._

"_I know I haven't been the best godfather, but at least give me a chance to fix that. I want to help you and Naruto, but how can I do that if you won't let me know what's bothering you?"_

_He gave her the saddest look he could muster._

_Mikomi just looked at him dully and gave in._

"_Kitchen" she said._

_She got off the couch lazily and dragged herself into the kitchen with her godparents in two. Myou and Cloud followed and stood near the counters while the other three sat at the table. _

"_Now what has gotten you so bent out of shape?"_

_Mikomi rubbed her face as she leaned back in her seat._

"_Do you remember Hayate?" She asked._

"_Yeah, he's the Procter for the third exam, right?"_

"_Not anymore"_

"_Huh?"_

_Myou spoke up._

"_W-when we were doing our daily patrols around the village; we found his body on one of the roofs near the Hokage tower"_

_Yuri's eyes went wide._

"_Oh, my god" she gasped. "Who could have done that?"_

"_Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked._

"_No. Hayate was killed way too sloppy. If it were Orochimaru, he would have made it cleaner"_

"_Then who could have done it?"_

"_That's what we're trying to figure out"_

_She propped her feet up on the table._

"_And that's not the worst of it"_

"_What could be worse than finding a corpse?" Cloud asked._

_Mikomi's face went grim._

"_Sarutobi isn't canceling the exams"_

_She leaned her head back and sighed._

"_We had an emergency meeting regarding about Hayate's death and debated if we should let the exams continue and of course he said yes"_

_She sighed._

"_I honestly don't know what is going on with that man's head. Why would he let the exams continue when Orochimaru is out and about and when we find a proctor dead days before the final stage?"_

_Yuri just shrugged while Jiraiya thought about it._

"_That doesn't seem right" He said._

_He got up and walked out._

"_I'm going to find out what's going on. The old man would never let the exams continue if a body was found. I think a certain snake has a part in all of this and I don't like it"_

_He left and went to do his least favorite research._

_Mikomi just placed her head on the table._

"_This is too much for me" she said_

_Yuri rubbed her back._

"_There, there, honey. I know it's not nice to find a body but this isn't the first time that you found a corpse lying around"_

"_That's not the point, Yuri. The point is that I have a bad feeling about these exams. First Orochimaru shows up, then we find a dead proctor and now Sarutobi is letting the exams continue. Something bad is going to happen with these exams, and I don't like it"_

_She ran her hand through her hair._

"_Maybe I should just pull Naruto out of the exams" She said._

"_You can't do that!" Yuri exclaimed. "Naruto has worked so hard to get this far. If you take him out now, it'll crush him"_

"_That's better than letting my brother get killed"_

_Yuri let out an angry sigh. She turned to Cloud to see if he had a say in this matter._

_The blonde had to agree that Mikomi did have a point. He didn't like where these exams were heading either and the best thing to do was to take Naruto out while they still could. But he also knew that these exams meant a lot to the boy. He wanted to prove to the village that he was more than just a Jinchuriki and the only way to do that was with the exam. If he was pulled out now, then all his hard work would be flushed down the drain. _

_He really didn't know what to say about this. _

_The only thing he could do was shake his head at Yuri to tell her to keep him out of this._

_Yuri just huffed and left the room._

"_Whatever. If you want to take Naruto out of the exams, then go ahead. I just hope you're ready to be the worst sister ever"_

_Mikomi didn't say anything._

_Myou looked uneasy with the whole situation and silently left her captain._

_That simply left Cloud with a very moody 19 year old._

_That wasn't good._

* * *

_Present time_

It had been three days since Mikomi had an argument with her godmother and she was still in a bad mood.

She already had her mind set on taking Naruto out of the exams. She didn't care how mad he would be with her. She was only doing this to protect him.

Yuri wasn't speaking to her at all. She was mad that her goddaughter was trying to ruin her godson's dreams of becoming Hokage. Sure, she agreed that it was to keep him safe, but he needed to learn how to defend himself. Mikomi couldn't hold his hand everyday of his life.

Aerith and Usagi weren't talking to her either. It seemed like they were mad with her as well.

"_Everyone seems to think I'm the bad guy all of a sudden? What's wrong with trying to protect my baby brother?"_

She just sighed and ran her hand through her hair.

Marlene came running downstairs with Barret following.

The village was having a festival to celebrate the Chunin exam finals and everyone was out partying.

Marlene went over and tugged on her arm.

"Onee-chan! Want to have some Ice cream with daddy and I?"

She looked at the girl for a moment then looked at Barret to see if it was alright.

The ex AVALANCE leader nodded his head with a grin.

She sighed deeply.

"Alright then, I need some fresh air anyway"

She stood up and let Marlene tug her outside of the house and into the busy streets.

* * *

The streets were bustling with people. Everyone was enjoying the festivities that village provided for the exams. Couples walked the streets wearing Yukata's while children ran around with sparklers.

It was near sunset at this point and fireworks were set to display the sky when the sun went down.

Marlene kept pulling Barret to random stands while Mikomi trudged along in a leisurely pace.

She slowly munched on the ice cream cone that Barret was so nice to get her.

While everyone was in high spirits and enjoying the festival, she was down and lost in her own thoughts.

She was still in a stump about what she would do with Naruto.

Should she pull him out and protect him from the dangers that lured out the horizon? Or should she let him compete and get him killed for following his dream?

This really tore her up inside. She spent her whole life protecting Naruto from danger and now he was old enough to face the danger himself. She was proud that he was old enough to take care of himself, but the thought of him getting hurt or possibly killed just made her heart stop.

She just wished she had someone who understood what she was going through.

"Hey, Mikomi. You're Ice cream's melting"

She was pulled back to reality when she felt Vanilla Ice Cream dripping down her hand.

"Oh, so it is"

She went to wipe it off her hand, but she realized she didn't have any napkins to do it.

Barret came over and cleaned her hand with a moist napkin.

"Geez, Mikomi. I know you tend to space out once in a while, but seriously "

"Sorry, I just got a lot on my mind right now"

"I'll bet. Your brother is going to be in the finals tomorrow. You must be excited"

"Yeah…excited"

She looked at him when he finished. There was something about the ex AVALANCHE leader that put her at ease. She didn't know if it was because that he was a father and that he had this parental complex around him or if it was because he was an ex leader and held this protective aura around him. Either way, it made her feel safe. Maybe he would understand what she was going through and would know what to say.

"Hey, Barret? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing, kiddo"

She looked at her melted ice cream for a moment before looking back at him.

"Do you think I should let Naruto compete into the finals?"

He just laughed.

"Of course you should. He's worked so hard to get this far. Why would you say that?"

She just shrugged.

"I don't know. With everything happening lately, I just feel like I should pull him out so he won't get hurt. Yuri said I'm being over dramatic with all of this, but I just want to protect my brother"

She looked at him with sad eyes.

"You don't think I'm overreacting over this, do you?"

Barret just pat her shoulder with his metal arm.

"Not at all, Kiddo. As a single parent, I know just how you feel. I worry about Marlene every single day. I always argue with myself over how I should protect Marlene. I know that she's still young and she still needs her dad to look after her, but one day, she won't need me anymore and she'll have to protect herself. I don't like the idea at all, but that's just life for you. If you keep protecting them, they'll just pull away and want nothing to do with you. If you don't want that to happen between you and Naruto, I suggest you start letting go of your lease on him and let him grow up. I'll have to do the same when Marlene gets to that age as well"

He looked just in time to see his daughter a little ways up ahead. He also saw a really creepy looking guy eyeing her strangely as she went to one of the booths.

"But for now, I have the excuse to be the protective father. Now if you'll excuse me, papa bear has a daughter to protect"

He activated his gun arm and ran after the guy.

"Hey you sick pervert! Just what the hell were you going to do to my daughter?!"

Mikomi laughed as she saw him trying to shoot the guy without hitting anyone in the crowd.

Marlene went up to her and held her hand.

"What's daddy doing, Onee-chan?"

Mikomi suppressed her giggles.

"Nothing, Marlene, nothing"

She simply watched Barret chase the guy throughout the streets. She mulled over what he said to her and had to admit he was right. One day, Naruto wouldn't need her help anymore, and she had to face that that time was now. He wasn't a poor defenseless boy anymore. He was a ninja of the village hidden in the leaves. He couldn't afford to have his sister holding his hand anymore and she had to deal with that fast.

She just hoped that she could deal with it well. She remembered when Yuri was going through the same thing with her while she was growing up.

* * *

A few vendors away, Yuri had anime tears in her eyes as she secretly watched her goddaughter. Ever since that fight, she did not say a word to her and it killed her. Sure, she could have broken her silence and apologized for being a bitch, but she wanted her goddaughter to learn a lesson, and she thought the silent treatment would be the best punishment. She just didn't realize that she was being punished herself.

Cloud sighed with annoyance. Tifa insisted that they go with Yuri to the festival. She knew that Yuri was suffering from her silent treatment.

He thought this whole situation with their argument was ridiculous.

If Mikomi wanted to pull Naruto out of the exams, then she had every right to do so. She was old enough to make her own decisions and this was one of them.

Yuri sniffled when she saw Mikomi walk away with Marlene.

"Oh man. This is killing me! Why won't 'Komi-chan talk to me?!"

"Because you were the one who started the silent treatment and you two are as stubborn as mules" Bakuto said as he came over with Yugito.

Yuri wiped the tears from her eyes and gave Bakuto a nasty look.

"You don't know what's going on between me and 'Komi-chan, so butt out!"

"Yuri, everyone knows what's going on" Cloud said.

"You have been whining about it for the last three days" Yugito admitted.

Yuri huffed.

"My bragging has nothing to do with this. This has to do with the fact that Mikomi has no right to pull Naruto out of the finals. He's worked too hard to get this far and it'll crush him if she does this"

"True, but Mikomi just wants to make sure Naruto is safe. She's right that things are a little hectic right now, and I can see why she would want to pull him out" Tifa said.

"But things are always hectic when you're a ninja! Every day is filled with crazy missions and crazy bad guys. This is practically normal"

"Finding a dead proctor days before the exams are normal?" Bakuto asked doubtfully.

Yuri went to say something to that, but realized she had nothing.

"No wonder 'Komi-chan hates you. You have to have the last say in everything"

The cloud ninja just shrugged and looked at his rival.

"I will admit, she is being a little over dramatic about her brother. I agree that it's nice to have someone watching over you, but the boy needs to grow up. She can't hold his hand forever. I just don't understand that stupid fox sometimes"

"Well, you don't have any siblings, so maybe you that's why you don't understand" Yugito suggested.

"You mean to tell me that if I had a younger sibling, that I would act like an overprotective freak?"

"No" Yuri said softly. "Mikomi is a little different from other siblings. She takes her role as an older sister very seriously"

Yuri had a sad look on her face as she thought about her goddaughter.

"Ever since she lost her parents, Mikomi was always protective of Naruto. She kept him by her side at all times when he was a kid and she refused to take on far away missions when I wasn't around. He's the only living proof of Minato and Kushina. Since she doesn't have them anymore, she only has her brother. If anything bad were to happen to him, it would crush her deeply"

She suddenly smacked her head when she realized what she said.

"Oh man. No wonder why she's so against him competing. How could I forget such an important fact?"

"_It's because you're an idiot, that's why" _Everyone thought.

Yuri just sighed and rubbed her temples.

"Geez. I must be the most clueless godmother ever. How could I be so blind to something like that? 'Sigh' I really need to lay off the booze. I swear it's getting to me"

"Yeah, no kidding" Bakuto muttered.

Yugito elbowed him in the chest to keep him quiet.

Yuri let go of her face and looked at the crowded streets.

"I should talk to her" She said.

"If she wants to pull Naruto out of the exams, then that's fine. I won't stop her anymore"

She walked off and left the others behind while she tried to make amends with her goddaughter.

"50 bucks says that she screws up and makes Mikomi mad" Bakuto betted.

The others didn't say anything. They just hoped that Yuri and Mikomi would reconcile.

* * *

Mikomi held onto Marlene's hand as they went through the streets.

Barret was still chasing that creepy guy around the village, so that left Mikomi to babysit Marlene; not that she minded.

Marlene simply looked cute in her pink Yukata that Barret got her. It was a cherry blossom pink and had little goldfish swimming around the sleeves and hem.

She looked up Mikomi and tugged at her arm.

"Onee-chan! Can we go win a goldfish?"

She smiled at the girl.

"Sure, Marlene. It'll go so well with your outfit"

Marlene giggled and pulled her to the fish booth.

"I wanna win a big one!"

Mikomi handed her some money.

"Here you go. Have fun"

Marlene thanked her and went on to play the game.

Mikomi watched her for a while until she left someone trying to suppress their chakra.

"In case you think you're good at hiding, think again"

She turned to the crowded streets.

"Come on out, Yuri. I know you're there"

A few seconds later, Yuri popped up and walked over to her as if she were a dog who got in trouble with her master.

She wore a powder blue Yukata with silver birds printed on the fabric. Her normally long hair was tied up in a twist to top to all off.

Yuri smiled at her nervously and waved.

"Hey 'Komi-chan" She said softly.

Mikomi just nodded.

Yuri bit her lip nervously. She didn't know why she was so scared to talk to her goddaughter. Maybe it was because she thought that she would be mad about her calling her the worst sister ever if she pulled Naruto out.

She had to admit, that she had no right to say that. Mikomi was just looking out for her brother and she would have done that same as well if she were in the same situation.

She looked at Mikomi shyly and tugged in the sleeves of her Yukata.

"Listen. I just want to …um…I wanted to that I ….um….well, what I'm trying to say is-"

"It's ok" Mikomi said.

Yuri looked at her surprised.

"Huh?"

"I know what you were going to say. Its ok, Yuri. I forgive you"

Mikomi gave her a weak smile and rubbed the back of her head.

"You were right in a way. I can't keep babying Naruto like this. He needs to grow up and I need to learn how to accept it. I'll let him stay in the exams. It's like you said….he has gotten this far, so why pull him out now?"

Yuri got all misty eyed.

"Oh, 'Komi-chan!"

She pulled her into a big hug.

"I'm so sorry! I should have been more considerate about your feelings! This must be so hard for you! Our little Naruto is growing up before our very eyes"

She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Now I know what it was like for Minato as he had to see you grow up. This is painful"

Mikomi made a face as she thought about what her dad did.

"Yeah. But at least I'm not suffering from with drawls like he did.

She remembered the time when she first started school at the academy.

_Flashback_

_Mikomi walked down the many hallways of the academy. _

_It was her second week of school and already she was a fast learner._

_She carried the many books that she had in her arms and trotted down the hallway._

_A little ways behind her, Minato was secretly following her. _

_He still wasn't over the fact that his daughter was old enough to attend school. She was only 4 years old, for crying out loud._

_Anime tears rolled down his eyes as he watched her go down the hall._

"_Kushina, our baby girl is so grown up!" he mumbled._

_When he saw her turn down another hallway, he quietly flash stepped to her and went to hide behind another classroom door. He would have succeeded, had he noticed the loose nail sticking out of the ground. Instead, his shoe caught on in and he fell face first into the floor. _

_Mikomi turned around and saw her dad on the floor._

"_What are you doing daddy?"_

_Minato quickly got up on his feet and rubbed the back of his head._

"_Um …ah… I was just coming here to see what everyone is learning! You know how I love a good education!"_

_Mikomi blinked a few times then giggled._

"_You're so weird, daddy"_

_She held her hand out for him._

"_Come on, let's go to class"_

_Her tiny hand filled his giant one._

_Minato had anime tears streaming down his face again as he walked with his daughter to class._

_He looked at his daughter as she continued walking to class._

"_Honey, could you do me a favor?"_

"_What?"_

"_Promise me that you won't grow up too fast"_

_Mikomi giggled._

"_Ok daddy"_

_Minato patted her on the head as they went into Mikomi's classroom._

_End Flashback_

That was one of the fondest memories she had of her dad.

After he died, she did the same with Naruto, only she disguised herself as a student in his class.

Yuri seemed to know what she was thinking and pulled her into a hug.

"Don't worry, honey. Things will get better, I promise"

Mikomi let her godmother hug her.

"You think?"

"Sure. It was like that with you. We'll have so much fun now that Naruto's all grown up"

Mikomi's face fell.

"But I had fun when I was babying him"

Just then, Marlene ran up to Mikomi with a goldfish in a bag.

"Onee-chan! I got one! I got a goldfish!"

Mikomi grinned and knelt down.

"That's wonderful, Marlene. And it's a nice, big one too"

Marlene nodded with a huge grin on her face.

"What are you gonna name it, honey?" Yuri asked.

Marlene thought for a moment.

"Hmmm…. I'm going to call it 'Komi!"

"Why 'Komi?"

"Because I won her thanks to Onee-chan!"

Mikomi smiled sweetly at the girl.

"That's so sweet of you, Marlene"

Barret came back from chasing that creepy guy.

"That sucker isn't going to bother anybody anytime soon" he said as he rubbed the dirt off his clothes.

Marlene jumped into her father's arms.

"Daddy! I won a goldfish!"

"Did you now? That's a mighty fine goldfish"

"Onee-chan helped me win her. Her name is 'Komi"

"Well wasn't that nice of her. Did you say thank you?"

Marlene looked at Mikomi.

"Thank you, Onee-chan"

Mikomi stood up and ruffled Marlene's head.

"Anytime, Marlene"

Marlene smiled before she yawned.

"Looks like it's bedtime for someone" Yuri said.

Barret carried Marlene and her goldfish.

"Alright, let's go home"

Mikomi and Yuri followed behind.

Yuri gripped her shoulder and whispered in her ear.

"You may not be able to baby Naruto anymore, but you can still have someone how will enjoy it"

She pointed to Marlene as they walked.

A soft smile found its way on Mikomi's face.

Yuri was right.

She had Marlene and even Denzel to baby around. Naruto maybe old now, but at least she had them.

Maybe this growing up stuff wasn't so bad after all. But the exams didn't help her at all.

Tomorrow was going to be a very sucky day for her indeed.

* * *

**A/N: And there you go. Next chapter will be all about Naruto's fight against Neji. Hope you're all looking forward to that. Just to let you know, I started up college again, so I might not update as much as I used to. You've been forewarned.**

**Remember to send in those reviews and help me with me goal.**

**Ja ne**


	38. The proud failure

Chapter 38: The Proud Failure

**A/N: Here's the long awaited chapter that everyone's been dying to see! (Or at least I hope so) It's finally the match between Naruto and Neji. How will it end and who will win? I think this has to be the longest chapter that I've written so far for this story, so Yay for me!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I do own Mikomi, Usagi and Yuri while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

**Enjoy!**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

* * *

The next morning was hectic. Feudal lords and guests from different nations were all coming to the Hidden Leaf village. Preparations were being made for the finals that were about to commence. Everyone was in high spirits as they waited for the battles that would happen shortly.

At the Uzumaki residence, things were hectic as well. Or rather, Yuri was making things hectic. She was running around the house and grabbing things Naruto would need for the finals.

"Ok. You've got shurikens, Kunai Knives, scrolls, smoke bombs, paper bombs, military ration pills, blood pills. Am I missing anything?"

Naruto tried to shuffle all of the items that Yuri gave him.

Mikomi sweat dropped at the kitchen table. Only Yuri could turn something so simple into a nightmare. She didn't even want to remember when she did this to her when she took the exams.

Naruto managed to put everything away into a scroll. Yuri started to list things off of her fingers.

"Weapons, medicine, pills. That should do it"

She looked at her godson.

"Did you have a good night sleep?"

"Yes"

"Have a healthy breakfast?"

"Yes"

"Brush your teeth?"

"Yes"

"Change your underwear?"

"Yuri!"

The medic turned to her goddaughter to see her give her a dirty look.

Yuri laughed nervously.

"Opps, sorry"

Mikomi just rolled her eyes and up from the table.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's go before Yuri scars you for life"

The young blond followed his sister out of the house.

Yuri stood near the doorway and waved at them.

"Don't forget to change your underwear!"

"Shut up!"

* * *

The walk to the stadium was quiet. Naruto just looked at the ground. He kept kicking at a pebble that was in his path. Mikomi rubbed his shoulder.

"You nervous, Naruto?"

He tried to give her a brave smile.

"Nervous? Why should I be nervous? I get to fight Neji Hyuga, so I'm not nervous"

Mikomi gave him a knowing look.

"Maybe I am a little nervous" he admitted.

Mikomi crouched down so she was eye level with him.

"You've have nothing to worry about" She said. "You've trained really hard this past month. You'll do fine"

Naruto looked at the ground.

"But everyone says that Neji is a real genius"

"So what? Brains aren't everything. You've gotten this far with your strength alone"

"But…what if I lose?"

"Naruto"

She placed her hands on his shoulders. She gave him the sweetest smile she could muster.

"You should know that I don't care if you win or lose, I'm proud of you either way. As long as you come out of this alive, then that's all I need"

She pulled him into a fierce hug.

"Just do your best and be safe. That's all I ask"

Naruto hugged his sister in return.

She was the only person who could show him so much love.

Mikomi stood up and looked at her brother.

"Let's go. Everyone is waiting to see you shine today, so let's not keep them waiting"

Naruto grinned at that and continued to walk to the stadium.

* * *

They saw AVALANCE near the entrance. They came early so they could get good seats.

Naruto beamed when he saw his family. He was happy knowing that they came here to see him.

Yuffie pounced on Naruto when he got closer.

"Good luck, Naruto! Go kick that Hyuga's ass and fight like there's no tomorrow!"

Tifa hugged him when Yuffie let him go.

"Do your best, ok?"

Barret ruffled his hair.

"Good luck, kiddo"

Cid patted him on the shoulder.

"We're rooting for you"

Vincent nodded.

"Fight hard"

Yugito hugged him.

"You'll just win, I know it"

Bakuto gave him a nod.

"Show your sister that you're a better fighter than her"

Naruto looked at Cloud.

The blond patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Just do your best. Even if you don't win, we'll still be proud of you"

Naruto beamed before latching himself to him.

"Ni-san!"

Cloud was taken aback by the gesture, but returned it none the less.

It was strange on his part, but hey, he grew attached to the kid.

* * *

They all left Naruto to go find their seats. They were almost near the front rows so they would have a good view. They all sat down and watched Naruto join with the others competing in the finals.

Yugito bounced in her seat.

"This is so exciting! I can't wait to see Naruto fight!"

Mikomi gave her friend a weak smile. She was glad that her brother was competing but she was nervous as well.

Barret ruffled her hair.

"Don't worry, Mikomi. If there's one thing that you and Naruto share in common, it's that you're too stubborn to give up"

"_That's what I'm afraid of" _she thought.

* * *

Myou came down to their seats.

"Hey, Myou"

Myou bowed to her captain.

"Hello, captain"

She fiddled with her fingers in a Hinata manner.

"Um…I was wondering if I could possibly sit with you guys. I don't want to sit with my uncle or the rest of my clan"

"Yeah, that's fine. You're part of the group anyway"

Myou looked relieved as she sat down.

She waved at the rest of the group nervously.

"H-hi everyone"

"Hey, Myou"

"Are you going to root for Naruto or Neji?"

"Naruto, hands down"

"Really? I thought you would support Neji, considering you're cousins and all"

Myou's face was grim.

"I can't forgive him for hurting Hinata in the preliminary rounds. She just finally got of hospital"

They all knew what happened between Neji and Hinata during the preliminaries. Mikomi went to the hospital a couple of times to check up on her even.

* * *

Down in the fighting area, Naruto kept looking at Garra. He was still eerie about him since his run in with him at the hospital.

He suddenly remembered something that made his blood run cold.

"_I think I remember… Sasuke's opponent is…"_

He gulped nervously.

* * *

Up on the sky deck; the Third Hokage and the Fourth Kazegake were seated.

Sarutobi looked at the crowd. All of the seats were packed.

"_Well then…we ought to begin"_

He rose from his seat and looked at the crowd.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, esteemed guests. Welcome and heartfelt thanks for gathering here in Konohagakure…for the Chunin selection examination! We will now begin the matches of the final round…between eight candidates who advanced in the preliminaries. Please sit back and enjoy!"

The crowd cheered as the finals began.

* * *

Genma, the Procter looked at the Genin finalists.

"Before we begin, I have a few announcements. Look here"

He held up a chart showing who was going to fight.

"There have been a few last minute changes. Look again and confirm who your opponent is going to be"

Shikamaru was confused.

"_I was down for an extra match. Did that sound ninja guy withdraw?"_

Little did he know that Garra killed him.

* * *

Naruto waved his hand around.

"Hey! Hey!"

"What?"

"Sasuke isn't here yet, so what's gonna happen?"

Truth be told, no knew where Sasuke was this past month. Apparently, Kakashi was training him, but they didn't know where he trained the Uchiha boy.

"If he doesn't arrive at the start of his own match…he'll lose by forfeit"

Naruto was puzzled.

"_This is weird…I thought Sasuke would be here even if he had to crawl"_

Garra's fingers twitched.

Genma cleared his throat.

"Listen up, all of you. This is the last exam. The landscape may be different, but just with the preliminaries, there are no set rules. You fight until one of you dies or admits defeat. Unless I determine that a clear winner has already been decided, in which case…I'll stop the match before anyone's killed. Understand?"

Everyone nodded.

"Alright then. Match one: Naruto Uzumaki vs. Neji Hyuga. You two stay here. The rest of you, proceed to the waiting room outside of the arena"

Naruto and Neji stayed put while everyone left.

* * *

Outside of the arena, people began talking.

"This'll be quite a show"

"But against Neji, Naruto doesn't stand a chance"

"I never imagined that scamp would last so long"

"Hmm. But all the ones who were hanging on through luck alone…have been eliminated by now"

"And this Naruto kid…he drew up a tough opponent"

"Against a member of the Hyuga clan, he's got absolutely no chance at all"

* * *

Mikomi bit the inside of her cheeks as she heard everyone talking about her brother.

The match didn't even start yet and they were already doubting him.

Yuffie turned around in her seat and started chewing them out.

"You guys got a lot of nerve talking about Naruto like that! What makes you think he's going to lose?"

"Are you kidding? That kid is a total failure, there's no way he can beat Neji"

Myou got in their faces as well.

"Neji doesn't stand a chance against Naruto. I'm a Hyuga and even I know that"

The two girls kept bickering with the people behind them until Cid broke it up.

Tifa patted Mikomi on the back.

"Don't pay any attention to them. They don't know Naruto like we do"

Mikomi smiled.

"At least your friends are supporting Naruto" Usagi said.

"_I know he'll win" _Aerith added.

Mikomi's good mood was cut short as Yuri came zooming in. She was nothing but a white blur as she zipped down to her seat. She got behind Mikomi and tried to hug her, but ended wrapping her arms around her neck and started choking her.

"Komi-chan! I've been looking for you everywhere! How could you leave me at the house like that? That was so mean of you!"

She rubbed her cheek against her goddaughter's now blue face.

Tifa began to panic.

"Yuri! You're choking her!"

Yuri saw this and immediately let go. Mikomi gasped for air as color returned to her face.

She took a few deep breaths before she glared at Yuri. The medic grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry"

Mikomi just shook her head before looking back at the arena.

* * *

Naruto and Neji had a stare off. Both wee glaring at one another. Neji held mocking tone to it. Naruto was more determined.

"You got something to say?" Neji asked snidely.

"I've said this once before…"

Naruto held up his fist.

"I vow to win!"

Neji activated his Byakugan.

"_He's got absolute faith in himself…as if he hasn't got a single doubt"_

"Now then…Match one…begin!"

Both got into a fighting stance.

Neji had a smug look on his face.

"It's more fun this way anyway. I can't wait to see the despair in your eyes…when the truth finally draws on you"

"Quit yapping. Let's fight!"

The battle of fate had just began.

* * *

Mikomi gulped as she looked at her brother get into a fighting stance.

"_Please be ok, Naruto"_

* * *

Naruto stared at Neji. The Hyuga had his Byakugan activated. As he stared into his eyes, he remembered the outcome of Hinata's match. This guy could see chakra points and hit them as if they were in plain view. A gifted talent from a gifted genius. Naruto pondered his ideas.

"_If I get too close to him, he'll press my points and I won't be able to use any jutsu…so I've got to fight him from afar"_

He had materia that Yuffie had given him, but he didn't want to use it unless he really needed to.

He conjured up shadow clones. Neji was surprised that he could pull off such an advanced technique. He suddenly realized what the blond was doing.

"_I see…since his chakra is equally and evenly distributed among all of the clones…even my Byakugan won't enable me to determine which of the bodies is real"_

He smirked.

"_But… in the end, there is only one actual body"_

Naruto's clones pulled out Kunai knives.

"Heh…don't be too confident"

"Then come at me…if you dare"

"Don't underestimate"

They all charged at him as full speed. Neji simply flipped over tem and started performing Gentle Fist at them. He spun in the air and kicked two in the faces. Two more charged at him when he landed. He grabbed them by the arms and elbowed them before pulling them forward and slamming his fists into their chests.

* * *

Everyone watched as Naruto's clones disappeared.

"Does this kid have eyes in the back of his head or something?" Yuffie asked.

"That's the Byakugan for you" Myou replied.

Mikomi didn't say anything as she watched her brother tried to stay calm.

It was taking everything in her to stay calm.

"_Naruto"_

* * *

Neji looked at the blond arrogantly.

"You want to be Hokage, huh? I don't think that's gonna happen"

He kicked at the last of his clones and made it disappeared.

"I can pretty much tell, with these eyes of mine…abilities and talent are determined at birth. In other words, your entire destiny is set from the moment you're born"

Naruto's anger flared.

"Why are you so stubborn? You're always so sure that the future is full of doom and gloom. Why?"

"Well…are you saying that anyone can become Hogake…if they just try hard enough?" Neji asked.

"Only a select few shinobi are even considered for Hokage. Wake up and face reality! Those who will become Hokage are born with that fate. You can't get there by trying…you have to be pre-selected. Each person's life consists only of being swept along the inescapable current of his destiny. All of us…have only one thing in common…one shared fate….death"

Naruto went to make more clones.

"Well, so what? I guess I'm just a sore loser"

Thousands of clones surrounded him this time.

Neji wasn't fazed.

"I'm not an idiot, you know. I've seen through your pattern of attack already"

"I told you…you shouldn't make assumptions about the future!"

They all charged at him.

He tried landing a few punches, but Neji kept dodging them,

"_Darn! I'm not hitting him!"_

Neji zoomed through the clones.

"_I told you I'm not an idiot" _he thought.

"_I already know…which is the real you!"_

He went all the way into the back and slammed his fingers into the Naruto that was in the back. All of the clones disappeared as he hit the left side of Naruto's chest.

"The one who hangs back, afraid to get to get close…fearing any strikes on his chakra points. The more the others attack, the more that one stands. You're the real one!"

* * *

Mikomi rose from her seat when she saw blood coming out of Naruto's mouth.

"Naruto!"

* * *

Naruto hunched over in pain.

Neji just watched as blood dripped from the blond's mouth.

"I told you it was useless"

Naruto's body started shaking.

Laughter erupted from his throat.

"And…I told you…not to make so many assumptions!"

He disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What?!"

Neji looked behind him to see two Naruto's closing in on him.

* * *

Yuffie was jumping from her seat.

"All right! Go Naruto!"

Mikomi sighed in relief.

He was going to be the death of her, she just knew it.

* * *

Neji was caught off guard as he saw the two Naruto's.

"_He anticipated my thoughts and…he deliberately steered me…toward one of his clones?!"_

Naruto and his clone pulled back their fists as they got closer to Neji.

"From the start…I came into this match fully prepared to lose!!"

Everyone watched as his fist connected with Neji's face.

"He got him!" Cid cried.

Yuri narrowed her gaze as she looked closer.

"Wait a sec…"

* * *

Naruto beamed at his task.

He finally managed to get a hit.

That grin suddenly turned into a frown when chakra emanated from Neji's body.

He was thrown back when Neji spun really fast.

He went skidding while his clone vanished.

A huge crater surrounded Neji when he finished spinning.

"You thought you had me beat?"

Naruto was taken off guard.

* * *

Up in the stands, everyone began talking. That move Neji just pull was totally unexpected.

Myou was awestruck with her cousin.

"Impossible" she breathed.

"What's going on?" Yugito asked. "I know Naruto landed that punch"

"What the hell was that just now?" Barret retorted.

"That was rotation" Myou said weakly.

"The rotation is the Hyuga clan's ultimate defense. The visual range of the Byakugan is almost a full 360 degrees. In other words, the Hyuga clan can pretty much see a full circle around themselves. And with that same all seeing eye, they can anticipate all their opponents' attacks"

Yuri leaned back in her seat.

"Judging from his stance, I'd say he's protected with the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation"

Mikomi's skin paled.

"What exactly is the Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation?" Vincent asked.

Myou cleared her throat.

"Basically, the instant before an attack reaches Neji, he emits a large amount of chakra from chakra points all over his body; halting the enemy's attack with a cocoon of chakra. Then he moves his body in a circle like a spinning top…repelling and reflecting the attack. Normally, chakra that is emanated from chakra points is difficult to control. Even Jonin can usually only utilize such chakra from a single body part at a time, like the hands or feet. You could consider this as an absolute defense"

Nobody said anything. They realized that things were going to turn ugly really fast.

Mikomi's hands curled into tight fists.

"_Naruto"_

* * *

Naruto staggered to his feet.

That rotation really messed him up.

Neji closed his eyes in concentration.

"You're finished. You are within the boundaries of my eight trigrams"

He quickly went into a stance.

"Gentle fist…Eight Trigrams, Sixty-four palms"

He quickly went in for the attack and started hitting Naruto's chakra points.

"Eight Trigrams! Two palms! Four palms!, Eight palms!, Sixteen Palms!, Thirty-two palms! , Sixty-four palms!"

Naruto went landing in a huge heap.

Bruises formed from where his chakra points were hit.

* * *

"Naruto!" Yuri cried as she rose from her seat.

Tifa covered her mouth while Yugito gasped.

Bakuto had a grim look on his face as well as the rest if the guys.

Yuffie covered her eyes.

Red Xlll hung his head.

"Good gracious!" Cat Sith cried.

"Naruto!" Denzel and Marlene cried. (A/N: Yuri brought them with, I forgot to mention)

Myou gasped horrified and held onto her captain's hand.

Mikomi closed her eyes tightly. She just couldn't see her brother, she was that scared. She kept pleading in her head that he would get up.

"_Get up, Naruto! Please get up!"_

"_Don't worry. You're brother isn't that easy to give up" _Aerith assured her.

"If there's one thing you and Naruto have in common, it's the fact that you're too stubborn to quit" Usagi added.

* * *

Naruto tried to move his body. Pain flared throughout his entire body. He managed to get to his knees before it became too much for him.

Neji just watched Naruto struggle. It was almost funny to see him still struggle.

"I've pressed 64 of the points around your body. You can no longer even stand"

Naruto continued to struggle. His body felt like it was made out of lead.

"Heh….it must be frustrating" Neji said.

"Here, on your knees before my immutable strength… you must finally comprehend you own powerlessness"

He deactivated his Byakugan.

"Believing that your dreams will come true of you just try hard enough…it's simply a fantasy"

Naruto glared at him.

"_Damn it!"_

He thought back to Hinata; how she tried so hard to fight her cousin, only to be shot down.

"_Damn it!"_

Everyone was taken by surprise when he managed to get to his feet.

Mikomi cracked her eyes open in time to see this happen.

"Naruto"

"Stubborn until the very end" Barret grinned.

Yuffie was cheering him on.

Everyone else seemed glad that he was able to stand.

Mikomi didn't know if she was suppose to be happy or worried; he could only go so far.

* * *

Neji was completely caught off guard. There was no way that he could still stand after that attack.

Naruto held his chest painfully. He breathed heavily as he swayed on his feet.

Neji knew his attempts were pointless.

"Listen; just give up, all right? If you keep going, it'll only be more of the same. And I don't really have any grudge against you, so-"

"Sh-shut up! I…I do, all right?"

Neji blinked at him.

"What are you talking about?"

Naruto breathed harder.

"I…I mean…you're so strong, and you…you act like you know everything…and when you were up against Hinata, who was fighting so hard, you played those horrible mind-games with her!"

Neji glared at him.

"That's none of your business"

Naruto just ignored him.

"…You mocked Hinata…calling her a failure and claiming you could see her fate!...I could never forgive…a jerk who goes around calling people failures!"

Neji looked away for a moment before he looked at him again.

"Fine…since you insist, I'll tell you…about the hateful legacy of a marked child"

* * *

Mikomi watched her brother wearily. He wasn't fighting Neji right now, so that was a plus. But the Hyuga was talking to him about something that she couldn't hear.

Cat Sith plopped into her lap.

"Why the long face, Mikomi?" He asked.

"Naruto's alright. You should be happy"

She just gave the robot a weak smile.

"'I just don't like seeing him get hurt"

Yuri leaned over her seat and rubbed her shoulder.

"He's a big boy, sweetie. He can take care of himself"

Mikomi sighed.

"I know. It's just…I don't know…it's just that I don't want to see him end up like…."

"He won't end up like your dad, honey" Yuri said plainly.

"I'll admit that your brother is stubborn when it comes to giving up on something. And he might not be the sharpest crayon in the box. But at least he knows how to stay alive"

Mikomi just hung her head and let her bangs cover her face.

Yuffie looked at Naruto and Neji.

They Hyuga pulled his headband off and revealed a strange marking on his forehead.

"Hey! What's that weird looking mark on Neji's forehead?"

Myou had a grim look on her face.

"It's a curse mark jutsu" she said weakly.

"The Hyuga clan is split into two parts. The Main branch and the Cadet branch. Those who are from the Cadet branch must have that mark placed on their foreheads so they can protect the Hyuga Clan's secrets and the Byakugan. Neji is from the Cadet branch while Hinata and I are from the main branch"

Myou hung her head in shame.

"I always hated my clan for doing such barbaric things. When the curse mark is activated, it destroys the brain cells and turns a person's brain into mush. I always thought it was unfair of my clan."

She had a sad look upon her face.

"I can understand why Neji hates the Main branch so much. Especially my uncle, Lord Hiashi"

Mikomi looked up at her lieutenant.

"You never did tell me why Neji had such a huge chip on his shoulder"

Myou sighed.

"I'm sure you know by now that Neji's father and Hinata's father were twin brothers?"

She nodded.

"Well, since Lord Hiashi was born first, he was put into the main branch while Neji's father was put into the Cadet branch. That meant the Neji was placed into the Cadet branch when he was born."

"Ok? So he's mad at your uncle because he was born into the Cadet branch?"

Myou shook her head.

"It all started when Cloud and Konoha were celebrating their allegiance with each other. The Hyuga clan didn't go to the celebration because it was Hinata's third birthday"

"I remember that" Yugito said.

"We sent one of our lesser leaders to make negotiations"

"That fool was so full of himself. He was always thirsty for power. The village was stupid to have sent him to make peace"

Myou nodded.

"Well. During the alliance treaty, someone tried to kidnap Hinata. Lord Hiashi killed the bandit, but it turned out that the leader they sent from Cloud was the bandit"

"So that's what happened to him" Yugito said.

"The bastard deserved it" Baktuo plainly said.

Myou looked at the ground.

"Well, Kumo didn't take it really well, they said it was a threat to their treaty with Konoha. So instead of wanting war to break out again, they decided to strike a deal with the Hyuga clan"

"And what was the deal?" Mikomi asked.

"…Konoha had to give the head of Hiashi Hyuga to the Land of Clouds"

"Bastards" Yugtio muttered.

Myou wasn't finished.

"That's not the worse part. Since the Main branch didn't want their leader to be killed and have the Byakugan's secrets exposed….they killed Neji's father instead"

Mikomi's eyes went huge.

"What?"

"Since they were twins, they could pass if off and make it seem like they were killing Lord Hiashi. They sacrificed a member of the Cadet branch just so they could protect the Main branch"

Cid lit a cigarette.

"Talk about a messed up family"

Myou had tears in her eyes.

"I'm so disgusted with my clan. How could they do that to Neji. I know they were only trying to protect the clan's secrets, but to kill your own family member? How low can one get?"

She wiped her eyes.

"I can understand why Neji hates the Main branch so much, but he should know that not everyone from that branch is so bad. Hinata and I aren't"

Yugito patted her back.

"That's true. And we're so sorry that our village did this to your family. That was an all time low on our part"

Myou gave her a weak smile.

"Thank you. And I know it's not your fault. It was during the war and everyone was trying to find ways of winning"

She looked at her cousin.

"But…I just wished Neji would let go of his hatred. He thinks that everything is predetermined and that nothing can change our fates"

"Maybe Naruto can fix that" Yuri said.

"He's defined his fate as a Jinchuriki and he's doing everything to become Hokage. Neji just needs someone to give him that little push toward his dreams"

Myou bit her lip.

"Do you think Naruto has what it takes?"

"I know so. I'm their godmother after all, I know everything about my Naru-kun"

She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Mikomi.

"And of course I know everything about my Komi-womi-chan!"

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's forehead.

"Yuri, you've got five seconds to let me go before I lock up the liquor cabinet at home"

Yuri quickly let go and went back in her seat.

"I'll be good" She whimpered.

Mikomi just sighed as she looked at Myou.

"Sometimes, I wonder how I lived so long with her" she whispered.

Myou giggled.

"Well, you do tend to survive through the craziest things"

Mikomi touched the Hansou Materia in her pocket.

"Yes I do"

She looked back at the match to see the fight about to pick up again.

* * *

Back in the arena; Neji had just finished telling his tale to Naruto. They Hyuga clan's legacy ran chills down his spine.

"Your fate is to lose to me. That's a fact"

Naruto struggled to keep standing. His body throbbed in pain from that last attack.

"You can't know that for sure until we try!" he cried.

They Hyuga genius simply readjusted his headband.

The blond continued his rant.

"I can't even imagine how much pain you felt when your father was killed, but… I think you're wrong to conclude that everyone's destinies are predetermined!"

Neji jus looked at him.

"You're hopeless" he simply said.

He launched another gentle fist attack at him.

Naruto skidded across the arena before landing in a heap.

Neji looked at Genma.

"Procter…we're finished here"

He looked at Naruto once more before walking away.

"What a failure"

Naruto managed to get back on his feet.

"D-don't turn your back…" he choked out.

His legs shook as he stood up.

"I won't run away…I never…go back in my word..."

Neji sneered.

"Heh… I think I've heard that line before"

Naruto panted hard.

"I refuse to be defeated by a coward like you…I won't lose to someone who believes in resigning himself to fate!"

Neji scoffed.

"What a joke…stop trying to lecture all of us, as if you know _anything_!"

His blood boiled as he thought of his fate as a member of the Cadet branch.

"How could you understand anything about my fate…about bearing an indelible, inescapable curse?!"

Naruto didn't need to think too hard on that. He and his sister had to live fear because they harbored monsters within them. Instead of seeing his shadow, he would see the fox's instead.

Blood dripped from his lips as he grinned.

"Actually…I understand it pretty well…"

He laughed bitterly.

"And…so what?"

Neji's Byakugan flared with hatred.

"You're the one who needs to quit lecturing" Naruto ranted.

"You're not the only one whose special you know!"

He glared hatefully at his opponent.

"Even though she's in the Main branch, HInata has been suffering just as much as you! She's trying so hard to change herself…to earn respect…that's why she hung in there during that fight with you, even though she was coughing up blood! And you! ...the Cadet branch is supposed to protect the Main branch, but you used the exam as an excuse to beat up Hinata…it sure seems like you were trying to defy your fate too!"

Neji's eyes harden as he realized Naruto saw through his true motives.

The blond coughed up a bit of blood.

Neji couldn't help but grin.

"Heh… I've blocked 64 of your chakra points…how are you planning to fight? You can't even use any chakra. When we're through, you'll end up just like Hinata"

"Shut-up! Stop acting all high and mighty with your all seeing Byakugan!"

"Well? Are you all talk, or are you going to try and prove your point?"

"Sure! I'll prove it to you! By kicking your ass!"

Naruto mentally swore in his head.

"_Crap! I'm talking a big game, but I can't feel my chakra at all…it's just like the times I used all of my chakra during training"_

He suddenly remembered when Jiraiya told him he had two different types of chakra.

"_That's right…the fox chakra"_

He closed his eyes and concentrated.

"_Hey, Fox…lend me your strength!"_

HE quickly performed a hand sign.

"_Right now… I can't bear to lose!"_

Neji watched as he attempted to summon up his chakra.

"It's useless" he said. "I've presses your chakra points"

Naruto didn't pay any attention to him. He just focused on getting as much chakra as he could.

Neji was simply amused by Naruto's attempts/

"Can I ask you something? Why do you keep trying so hard to defy your destiny?"

Naruto glared at him.

"Because somebody told me…I was a failure!"

Chakra oozed out of his body and began surrounding him. His pressed chakra points faded away as his chakra wrapped around him like a blanket.

Neji was totally taken aback. He could see the chakra flowing within Naruto's body.

"_Impossible! His chakra is oozing out…what's going on?"_

As he looked inside his body, he saw it taking the shape of a fox. Its eyes glowed as it poured out of his body.

Neji was beyond scared.

"_What is he?"_

* * *

Out of the arena, people began chatting.

Those who were from the village know whose chakra this was. Some were surprised while others were scared.

The hairs on Mikomi's neck stood on end. She forgot how sinister the nine tailed fox's chakra was.

Yuffie was trembling in her seat.

"I don't like the feeling of this chakra. It's creeping me out"

Yuri's face was grim.

"You're lucky you weren't here when it attacked our village"

Out of nowhere, Mikomi felt a sharp pain within her head.

Clutching her face, she bent forward in pain.

Usagi's chakra stirred within violently within her. Her body felt hot as the fox tried to take control of her in a defensive matter.

"_Usagi! Please don't!"_

"Must. Kill!"

Myou looked at her captain and saw her eyes turning red.

"Captain?"

Fangs started to sprout out of her mouth and turned into a set of canine teeth.

Myou began to panic and started reaching for Yuri in her seat.

"Lady Yuri!"

The medic turned to her and saw claws coming out of her goddaughters hands.

"Crap!"

This caught everyone's attention and they saw Mikomi in her Jinchuriki state.

"Uh oh" Yugito muttered.

"This isn't good" Bakuto said.

"What the hell is wrong with her?" Cid asked.

Yuri just jumped into the vacant seat that was next into Mikomi and grabbed her face.

"You go back into your cell right now, Usagi!"

The now possessed Mikomi just growled at her and had her eyes glued on Naruto.

The blonds' chakra started taking the shaped of nine tails.

"Kill" Usagi growled.

She sunk low into her seat.

"Uh oh"

She sprung from her seat and went over Yuri's head.

The medic was fast and grabbed her by the waist and slammed her back in her seat.

"Someone hold her down!"

Myou grabbed her wrists while Vincent got her from behind and held her down by her shoulders.

Yuri made rapid handsigns and slammed her fist into where Mikomi's seal was.

"Forced retreat!"

Usagi thrashed a bit before she was forced back into her cell and left Mikomi out cold.

The kunochi slumped into Yuri and was out like a light.

Yuri sighed with relief.

"Man that was close"

She propped her goddaughter back into her seat.

"What just happened, Yuri?" Tifa asked uneasily.

Yuri ran her hand through her white a hair.

"A chain reaction" she said.

"Naruto and Mikomi have the same seal on them. Since they're both breaking at the same time that means their demons can get out at the same time. When Naruto released the nine tailed fox's chakra just now that triggered a reaction from Usagi and made her go into defensive mode. The same happens the other way around"

She looked at Bakuto and Yugito.

'I'm sure the same has happened to you two as well?"

Yugito nodded.

"We've had our fair shares of losing control like that"

"But we've learned how to control our beasts better" Bakuto said.

"I take it that the stupid fox doesn't know how to control her demon?"

"She doesn't like to use Usagi's powers" Yuri said.

"Then she's in for a lot of trouble then"

Myou tugged on Yuri's coat.

"Um…Lady Yuri…you might want to wake up captain Mikomi. Naruto is about to fight and I'm sure she wants to see that"

"Oh, right"

Yuri coated her hand in chakra and looked at Vincent.

"Keep your gun on her just in case. Usagi is really strong so she could come out"

Vincent pulled Cerberus out and pointed at her.

Yuri grabbed Mikomi by the shirt and had her face her.

"Sorry, Mikomi. But this is going to hurt"

She slapped her across the face real hard.

Mikomi's eyes shot open and she grabbed her face.

"What the hell?! Why does it feel like I was hit by a truck?"

Yuri went back into her seat.

"Sorry, honey. But I wanted to wake you up and make sure you were with us"

Mikomi slumped into her seat.

"I can't believe I lost control like that"

Myou patted her shoulder.

"Don't worry, captain. No one saw and you didn't hurt anyone. Let's just watch Naruto. He's about to fight"

Mikomi just sighed and watched the two opponents below.

She hoped her brother knew how to use Jinchuriki chakra.

Otherwise, he was in a heap of trouble.

* * *

Naruto could feel the fox's chakra powering him up. His aching limbs were gone while his bruises disappeared like magic.

His entire body glowed with orange chakra. He was overwhelmed with this power.

"_This power…it's incredible! It's so much stronger than when I was training"_

He looked at Neji with a new determined look.

"_I like it"_

He disappeared from where he was standing before.

Neji looked behind him in time to see Naruto throw a dozen shurikens at him.

He countered it with his rotation and caught that discarded weapons.

Naruto stood on all fours on the wall of the battle arena. Like an animal, he was stalking his prey, ready for its next move.

Neji threw the shurikens at him.

Naruto zipped past them and were all imbedded in the wall.

Neji grimaced at this.

"_He's quicker than before! What in the world is going on?!"_

Both charged at each other with Kunai's in hand.

They both clashed with each other.

Skidding off in the opposite direction, they discarded their blades.

Naruto turned around to face his opponent.

"You like close combat, right?"

He charged at him like a bull.

The ground broke up as he ran at Neji.

He kept thinking about what Neji said earlier about fate, about how destiny was unchangeable.

He almost believed in him, but he remembered his sister telling him something about fate when he was little.

"_Even a caged bird, when it smartens up…will try to open the cage door with its beak. Never giving up its dream …to fly free. If you never give up on your dreams, you can accomplish anything. Fate may be predetermined for us…but there are those who are stubborn enough to make it change"_

"_Nee-chan" _he thought.

"_If fate is predetermined…then I'm going to do as you say and be stubborn enough to change it!"_

As he closed in on Neji, his face hardened.

"Look, I may not understand the tragic destiny of the Hyuga clan of whatever, but…if you think it's inescapable, fine! Then stop fighting it already!"

He threw his fist at him while Neji tried performing rotation.

"When I become Hokage…I'll change the Hyuga clan!"

* * *

The arena erupted with an explosion as they clashed. The ground trembled from the sheer force of impact.

Everything was covered in smoke. The two Genin were thrown in opposite directions and were impaled into the earth.

"God damn!" Cid cried.

"Leave it to Naruto to make such a ruckus" Yuri said.

Mikomi tried to look through the smoke for her brother.

* * *

Everyone watched as hands came out of one of the craters.

Neji coughed as he got out.

Mikomi's spirits dampened as she saw him walk over to her brother's body,

He was down for the count and looked like he wasn't going to get up anytime soon.

"Sorry, failure. It's too bad, but…this is reality"

The ground suddenly broke underneath Neji.

Naruto shot out of nowhere and connected his fist with his jaw.

He went flying before he fell to the ground with a 'thud'.

The body that was in the crater disappeared with a 'poof'.

Everyone was speechless at what they saw. They never thought Naruto was smart enough to pull a stunt like that.

Naruto watched as Neji tried to move.

After a couple of attempts, he gave up.

The Hyuga groaned in pain.

"Ugh…in the middle of all that, you managed to create a shadow clone?"

He chuckled weakly.

"Your signature ninjustu…that was careless of me"

Naruto looked at the ground for a moment.

"I…I failed the academy graduation exam three times" he said.

Neji didn't know where this was going, but let the blond continue.

"…because, unlucky for me, the exam always tested the same ninjustu…my absolute weakest ninjustu"

He looked at Neji.

"And my weakest ninjustu…was the shadow clone"

Neji was surprised.

"So shut up about 'destiny' and 'inescapable fate'…you shouldn't whine about such trivial stuff…'cause…unlike me…you're not a 'failure'"

Genma grinned at Naruto's wise words.

"The winner is….Naruto Uzumaki!"

* * *

**A/N: (wipes forehead) 'phew!' This has got to be the longest chapter that I have ever written for this story so far!**

**I hoped you liked it, I know that I did. **

**Naruto won his match, but that doesn't mean he's out of the woods yet. There's still danger ahead for our heroes, and they won't know what hit them.**

**Please send in your reviews! **

**We're almost at the 100 mark! Keep it up!**


	39. Hearts and Roses

Chapter 39: Hearts and Roses

**A/N: as you can tell by the title, this is another holiday chapter! I figured that since Valentine's Day is just around the corner; why not make a mushy chapter with our favorite characters involved?**

**I'll get back to the main story in the next chapter, so don't worry.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Mikomi was busy in the kitchen.

Since it was almost Valentine's Day, that meant that she had to prepare her famous Valentine chocolate.

She wasn't a good cook when it came to making food, but she always made the greatest chocolate.

Cat Sith was helping her by mixing the chocolate. He looked so cute in his little apron.

"Arms…growing….heavy! Can't ….mix….any…longer!"

Since he was just a stuffed animal, he had a hard time string since the bowl was twice his size.

Mikomi examined the chocolate.

"Looks about right. You're done"

"I'm free!"

Cat Sith flopped on the kitchen counter and wheezed.

Mikomi giggled at him.

"Awww. Was that too much for you, Cat Sith?"

The cat brandished a paw at her.

"Hey! It's not easy being small! That really took a lot out of me!"

He sighed tiredly.

"Sometimes I wished I wasn't built to be small"

Mikomi rubbed his head.

"Aww, don't say that. I think you're really cute just the way that you are. Besides, who would be my sleeping buddy if you were big?"

Cat Sith pondered over that.

"Well…your bed is really comfy, and you are really warm"

Mikomi gave him a gentle smile.

"That's the spirit. If it makes you feel better, I'll make a giant chocolate heart just for you"

That made the cat feel better. He loved chocolate.

"That works for me! I could never pass up the opportunity to have chocolate"

"Same here. I love chocolate just as much as you. Maybe even more"

She went into the cabinet and pulled out the candy molds that she would be using.

She held up a star shaped mold and a heart shaped mold.

"Which one do you think I should do for the guys?" She asked her cat friend.

Cat Sith peered at the two molds.

"Go with the star one. Hearts would be too girly for them"

Mikomi grinned at him.

What would I ever do without you?"

She tickled his stomach before she went to work on the chocolate.

* * *

"Almost done"

She started putting the icing on the chocolate and wrote everyone's names on each piece.

Cat Sith sat on the ledge as he watched her put a Konoha leaf on Naruto's chocolate.

"Wow, Mikomi. You're really good at this"

"Thank you. This is something that I always do for Valentine's Day"

She had a soft look on her face.

"I used to make Naruto and Yuri chocolate every year. But since I became friends with you and AVALANCE I can make even more chocolate"

She smiled at the cat.

"It feels great. Having so many friends who you love and they love you back. It makes living so much more enjoyable"

She went back to writing on the chocolate when Tifa and Yugito came in.

"What are you doing, Mikomi?"

Mikomi freeze and tried to hide the chocolate from them.

"N-nothing! I-I was just making a snack"

Tifa went up to her and peered over her shoulder.

"Awww. Are you making Valentine chocolate?"

Mikomi blushed and nodded.

"I wanted to make something nice for you guys since you've stayed with me for nearly a year. You're the first friends I've made since I've been a Jinchuriki and I wanted to show it you guys by making chocolate for you all"

"Awww"

Tifa gave her a hug.

"You don't have to do that. We're lucky to have you as a friend and just having you around is enough"

Yugito nodded.

"You're our first real friend too, Mikomi. Nobody willingly wants to be friends with a Jinchuriki"

Tifa peered at the chocolate again.

"Although…that chocolate really does look good"

Mikomi giggled.

"Do you think Cloud and the guys will eat them? I don't know if they're chocolate eaters"

"Bakuto will eat chocolate" Yugito said.

"I'm sure the guys will eat theirs if they know you made it" Tifa said

"If not, then I'll shove it down their throats"

Mikomi giggled.

"Thanks, Tifa"

She turned around to go back to fixing the chocolates when she saw Cat Sith shoving his face into the chocolate bowl.

"Cat Sith!"

The little cat popped his head up to reveal it being covered in chocolate.

"What?"

"I was saving that chocolate for extras"

"I can't help it. It tastes so good and I was sooo hungry"

Tifa dipped her finger into the chocolate and tasted it.

"He's right. It really is good"

She took a spoon and started eating the chocolate like it were ice cream.

"Yeah, I'm going to finish this off if you don't mind"

"Hey! I need that to make my chocolate!" Mikomi whined.

Tifa just laughed and handed Yugito a spoon.

"Here, Yugito. You need to try this"

Yugito tasted some and immediately dug into the bowl.

"You guys!" Mikomi whined.

Tifa giggled and ruffled her hair.

"Relax, Mikomi. We'll help you make some more"

Mikomi just pouted, but let her friends help her make more chocolate while she finished decorating Kakashi's chocolate.

"Oh, are you making one for Kakashi?" Tifa asked.

Mikomi blushed but nodded.

"H-he's my old teammate and everything. I just wanted to give him something as a friend, nothing more"

She quickly looked at her best friend.

"Please don't tell Cloud or the guys. You know how they flip out when Kakashi's name is mentioned"

The girls knew all too well how Cloud reacted around Kakashi. He almost destroyed Naruto's practice dummy because it was made to look like Kakashi.

"Don't worry, Mikomi. You're secret is safe with us"

She smiled at her friends.

"Thanks, guys"

They went back to making chocolates for the rest of the day.

That is, until Yuffie came in and tried eating the rest of the chocolate mix.

* * *

_Next Day_

Mikomi yawned as she woke up from a long nap. She was given a break this week and she spent it by sleeping in all day.

She walked downstairs, only to stop halfway down.

Something smelled from the kitchen.

Her instincts told her it had to be Yuri and she immediately ran down the stairs.

Yuri was forbidden to cook anything in the kitchen since she tended to food poison everyone. Why she was cooking now was beyond her.

"Yuri! You better not be cooking in there or so help me god, I will pour all of your Sake down the drain!"

She skidded into the kitchen, only to find Bakuto instead.

The dragon just gave her a weird look.

"What the hell is the matter with you? Never seen someone cook?"

He went back to making whatever dish he was preparing.

Mikomi composed herself when she realized Yuri wasn't cooking.

"I thought Yuri was cooking, so I freaked out. She's not allowed to cook anything"

She recalled the last time that her godmother whipped up.

_Flash back_

"_Ok, Guys. Dinner is served!"_

_Yuri brought out a casserole dish that contained an unknown substance in it._

_Jiraiya looked at it skeptically._

"_What exactly is that?"_

_Yuri made a face._

"_It's chicken noodle casserole, stupid. What else would it be?"_

"_I don't know, but that doesn't look like chicken"_

"_That's because it's still hot. It just needs to cool down a bit"_

_Jiraiya picked up a fork and poked at it._

"_I think heating it just made it angry"_

_The casserole hissed at him as he poked at it._

_Jiraiya backed away in fear._

"_I am not eating that, even if you paid me!"_

_A tick mark appeared on Yuri's forehead._

"_Don't be such a jerk, Jiraiya. I bet 'Komi-chan and her friends will eat this"_

_She walked over to the table._

"_Oh,' Komi-chan! I made dinner!"_

_She saw the table was empty._

_Everyone must have found out about Yuri's dinner and they ran as fast as they could to the nearest fast food joint in the village._

_End Flashback_

She shivered as she thought of that nasty casserole.

Yuri made her eat it as punishment for not being home for dinner.

Bakuto just shook his head and went back to whatever it was that he was making.

Mikomi peered over his shoulder to see what he was doing.

She was a little ticked off that he raided her kitchen without asking, but then again, she always lost to him when it came to verbal fighting.

She saw him making this weird type of circle made out of dough.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Bakuto just looked at her strangely as he put tomato sauce on the dough.

"I'm making pizza, you idiot, what else?"

Mikomi tilted her head.

"Pizza?"

Bakuto stopped putting the sauce on and looked at her.

"Tell me you're joking? You've never heard of pizza?"

Mikomi shook her head.

Bakuto rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"You must be a bigger idiot than I thought" he muttered.

Yugito came into the room and squealed when she saw her boyfriend making pizza.

"Yay! You're making your famous pizza!"

Bakuto looked at his girlfriend and pointed a spoon at Mikomi.

"This idiot doesn't even know what pizza is"

Mikomi glared at him.

Yugito sighed at her boyfriend.

"Of course she doesn't know what pizza is. They don't have it here in Konoha."

Bakuto blinked a couple of times.

"_Well that explains why they have so many friken ramen shops" _he thought.

"**Hey! Don't be dissing ramen!" **Taimat said. **"Besides, that's where you can pick up some hot chicks!"**

"_Shut up, Taimat!"_

Bakuto just looked at his rival.

How could she not know what pizza was? It was a delicacy in Kumo. To think that this village didn't have one of the greatest dishes in the world was like slapping god in the face.

Then again, this village was known to be a little out there.

He just shook his head and went back to making his favorite food.

Mikomi watched him as he put cheese on the strange food.

"So…what exactly is pizza?"

"It's pretty much baked dough covered in sauce and melted cheese. It's really good when you put other toppings on it"

"What can you put on?"

"Anything really. Sometimes you can leave it as just plain cheese, other times you can put vegetables on it or types of meat. Pepperoni and sausage are the most common type"

He held out a piece of pepperoni for her to try.

"Try it. It's really good"

She looked at the slice of meat that was in her hand. She never saw anything like it and she didn't know what to make out of it.

"_Hey, Usagi. Is this safe?"_

"Of course it is! It's meat! Nothing bad can come from the greatest food on earth!"

She looked at the slice of meat in her hand then popped in her mouth.

It was pretty good, but for some reason it made her throat tickle when she swallowed it. Her throat never tickled unless she ate curry or anything spicy.

She started coughing a bit when she felt her throat closing up a bit.

"S-say 'cough' Bakuto. What exactly 'cough cough' is that stuff made out of?"

Bakuto shrugged.

"It's just a type of meat with various spices in it. Why?"

That wasn't good.

Mikomi's coughs became a bit deeper and hoarse.

She grabbed her throat and fell to her knees when she felt her throat closing up tightly.

Yugito panicked and knelt next to her friend.

"Are you ok, Mikomi?"

She managed to shake her head and pointed outside of the kitchen, clearly saying she needed help.

Yugito understood and quickly called for Yuri.

"Yuri! Something is wrong with Mikomi!"

The medic was within the kitchen within less than a minute with Jiraiya in tow.

She looked at her goddaughter who was on the floor and knew what was going on.

She quickly pulled out a serum and jabbed into her goddaughter's neck and injected the liquid.

Mikomi gasped deeply when she felt her throat loosen up.

She coughed a bit still and she tried to get the itching feeling out of her throat.

Yuri patted her back a bit to get it out of her system.

"What happened, honey?"

Mikomi took another deep breath before she was able to talk.

"I ate this weird meat called Pepperoni that Bakuto gave me and my throat suddenly closed up. It must have been filled with these spices or something"

Yuri looked up at Bakuto and glared at him hardly.

"Baktuo" She growled.

She stood up and covered her hand in chakra.

Baktuo raised an eyebrow at her but knew to keep his guard up around her.

She walked up to him and wacked him upside the head.

Bakuto grabbed his head and rubbed it.

"What the hell was that for?!" he retorted.

Yuri placed her hand on her hips.

"You almost killed my goddaughter with your little treat. She's allergic to spices and spicy foods. If she has even just a tiny bit of pepper, then her throat closes up"

Jiraiya had taken over and pounded Mikomi's back out as she coughed.

"How the hell was I supposed to know? She never said she was allergic to pepperoni"

"I didn't know there would be spices in it" Mikomi rasped.

Jiraiya rubbed her back as she tried to breathe properly again.

She always hated having this allergy, she wasn't allowed to eat anything spicy at all or else her throat would close up and she wouldn't be able to breathe.

She looked at Bakuto for a moment.

"That was pretty spicy stuff"

She was cursing Usagi for not spotting that out.

"It's not that spicy" Bakuto said. "It's probably like that because of your allergy"

"That could be"

She managed to stand up with Jiraiya hovering over her just in case.

She looked at the pizza for a moment.

"Could you make mine with just cheese?" she asked.

Bakuto raised an eyebrow.

"You're going to try this, even though it almost killed you?"

She nodded.

"It was only that pepperoni crap. And besides, you didn't know, so I can't be mad at you. Just make me a pizza and we'll call it even. It looks really good"

Bakuto was really surprised.

Mikomi never forgave him for stuff that he did to her. That pepperoni must have messed up her head or something.

"_I need to give her some everyday if she's going to be this nice" _he thought.

He quickly shook that thought off, knowing it would kill her.

"Fine, I'll make you one. Just don't be picky about it"

Mikomi nodded and went to sit back down by the table. The medicine that Yuri injected her with was affecting her.

Naruto popped his head in.

"Nee-chan, what's going on? I heard a lot of commotion coming from in here"

He spotted the pizza sitting on the counter.

"Oh! Food!"

He ran up to it and stopped when he spotted it.

"Huh? What's this?"

"It's called Pizza. Bakuto is going to make some for us"

"Cool!"

He sat by the table and waited with his sister.

"I want some too!"

Bakuto rolled his eyes but obliged.

* * *

"Alright, guys. Pizza's done"

Bakuto set the pizza on the table and started to cut it into slices.

Mikomi got a slice of cheese while Naruto got one with mushrooms on it.

"Vegetables? I hate veggies"

Bakuto gave him a look.

"You'll eat what I made. Or would you rather eat Yuri's chicken noodle casserole?"

Naruto immediately dug in and shoved the slice into his mouth.

Mikomi did the same, but not as dramatic as Naruto did.

Her eyes lit up as she ate the slice.

"This is really good!" She said as she finished her first slice.

Yugito grinned.

"Bakuto is an expert when it comes to making pizza. I always look forward to when he makes it"

Naruto was already on his second slice.

"This stuff is awesome!" he said through a mouthful of food. "Why don't we have this in the village?"

Mikomi was munching on her second slice of cheese.

She had to admit that Baktuo was a really good cook.

"_I guess he's not so bad after all"_

"This is pretty good, Bakuto. I don't think I hate you as much anymore"

A tick mark appeared on his forehead.

"That's nice to know"

He bit into his pizza and savored the taste of his favorite food.

It had been a long time since he had pizza, and he was glad that he was able to have some now.

They quietly ate their pizza and enjoyed the taste in their mouths.

There was one piece left of mushroom pizza.

Naruto and Bakuto went to grab for it and glared at each other.

"Listen here, kid. I've worked real hard making this and I deserve the last piece"

"That's bull! I'm a growing kid and I need my food!"

"Don't mess with me, I don't care if you're a kid, I will hit you"

"Bring it on then!"

He jumped from his seat and tackled Bakuto to the ground.

"You want a piece of me?! Do you?!"

"Bring it on, brat! I can take you!"

The girls watched as they continued fighting on the floor.

Cid came into the room and saw what they were doing.

"What the hell?"

Mikomi shook her head to tell him to not ask.

The pilot shrugged and saw the pizza.

"Oh, pizza"

He took the last slice and walked away with it.

Mikomi just giggled.

"Should we tell that it's gone?" Yugito asked.

"Nah, leave them alone for a bit. This is entertaining"

They just finished up their pizza and watched as Bakuto and Naruto fought over the last slice that was longer there.

* * *

_Three Days before Valentine's Day_

Yuri sat on the couch sulking.

It was almost Valentine's Day and she couldn't find herself a date.

There was suppose to be a big party at the village square on the 14th and she was still single.

"'sigh' I need to get myself a man" She said.

Mikomi looked up from her magazine to eye her godmother strangely.

"Yuri, what have a told about talking about your wistful fantasies out loud?"

Yuri just looked at her goddaughter.

"Come on, 'Komi-chan. I'm desperate. Everyone in our family seems to have their significant other around here. Cloud has Tifa, Bakuto has Yugito and Cid has Shera. I'm lonely! I want a man in my life!"

Mikomi just went back to her magazine.

"I'm sure you'll find someone at the party"

"But that's not the point! I don't want to meet someone on Valentine's Day! I want to find someone before then so he can give me chocolates!"

"Oh, so that's what you're going for. If you wanted chocolate, I already made you some"

"That's not what I mean. I want to get something from a guy who loves me! Someone who actually thinks I'm pretty, funny and nice to hang out with"

"Then you're going to have a hard time looking for prince charming" Jiraiya said as he walked in.

Yuri got mad and threw a pillow at his face.

"What about you, Mikomi? Don't you want Kakashi to give you something on Valentine's Day?"

A blush dusted Mikomi's cheeks.

"Kakashi is just my old teammate. He only sees me as a friend, so there's no point wishing over something like that"

"But Mikomi"

Yuri slouched over the couch.

"You're head over heels for him. Isn't there a tiny part of you that wishes he would get you something?"

Mikomi looked away.

"There is, but let's face it. Theirs is no way that he would be romantically attracted to me. He simply sees me as his old teammate and considers me as his friend, nothing more"

"_Oh, you wish" _Yuri and Jiraiya thought.

Mikomi sighed and stood up.

"I'm going out to catch some fresh air. I'll be back before dinner"

She walked out and headed for the square.

Yuri pouted for a bit then suddenly stood up.

"That's it! I'm going to find myself a man! There's got to be at least one guy who is attracted to all of this" She indicated to her body.

Jiraiya held back the urge to puke. Sure, he was a perv, but when it came to Yuri and Mikomi, he just couldn't see them doing that.

"_I feel sorry for the guy that gets stuck with her" _He thought.

Yuri did a victory cheer and stormed out of the house. As she bashed to door open, Cid was just about to come in and got knocked over the railing and into the bushes.

"What the hell?!"

"Look out, Konoha! Yuri is out to catch her prey!"

She ran down the street and into the town.

Cid poked his head out with a few leaves stuck to his hair.

"Man do I feel sorry for the guys" he said as he got out.

* * *

Munching on a dumpling, Mikomi walked through the streets of the village.

It seemed like everyone was excited about the party that was to take place in 3 days.

She sighed sadly as she saw all of the reds and pinks.

Valentine's Day wasn't one of her most favorite holidays. That could have been due to the fact that she was a Jinchuriki and no one wanted to be near her.

"_Life can really suck" _she thought.

"_Don't be saying that, Mikomi" _Aerith chided her.

"_I'm sure there's someone who really likes you and wants to be near you"_

"Yeah, you just have to wait for Mr. Right" Usagi added.

Mikomi just sighed.

"_I appreciate your concern, guys. But let's face it; no guy in their right mind would want to date me. I may be pretty, but I'm still a monster to them. 'Sigh' this makes me hate Bakuto even more because he has a girlfriend and he's a Jinchuriki too"_

She kept walking and threw her dumpling stick into the nearest trash can.

She walked by a couple to see them holding hands.

She looked at he own hand for a moment.

"It must feel nice to hold your lovers hand" she mumbled.

A rose suddenly came within her eye sight.

"Huh?"

She looked up to see Kakashi holding a red rose out to her.

"A beautiful girl deserves a beautiful rose" he said.

He picked it behind her ear.

Mikomi went beat red.

"H-hey, Kakashi. I didn't know you were going to be out"

"Well, I had to help out with setting the party. I really didn't want to help"

His eye curled up to show that he was smiling.

"But since I saw you here, I guess I'm glad that I came"

Mikomi didn't say anything and just touched the flower in her hair.

"Thank you for the rose" she mumbled.

Kakashi grinned.

"It's nothing. I just thought you would like something nice for Valentine's Day, or at least 3 days before it"

He tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"I have to say, red looks best on you"

Mikomi's face went redder.

"W-well, it is my favorite color. I always thought that red was the best way to show my upbeat personality"

She sweat dropped when she realized how stupid she looked.

"That sounded dumb, didn't it?"

Kakashi laughed.

"No. I thought that was cute"

She looked at him shyly.

Why did she have to love her teammate? It was obvious that he saw her as a friend and nothing more, so why was she tormenting herself by loving him?

The two of them were looking really cute at this point.

Sadly, that all came to a crashing end when a heard of guys were running past them.

Yuri ran after them with a hunting look in her eye.

"Get back here! How can you not be attracted to a sexy babe like me!? I'll give you a free show if that's what it takes!"

The men just kept on screaming as they ran away from Yuri.

"Nobody can resist the Iron Lotus!" Yuri cried as she ran after them.

Mikomi and Kakashi looked at where Yuri ran past them before looking at each other.

They both bursted out laughing and held their sides.

"Oh man! I know Yuri was always crazy, but that was insane!"

Kakashi wiped the tears from his eye.

"I feel sorry for you, Mikomi. You have to live with her"

"You get used to it"

She composed herself.

"Well, I might as well stop her before our male population dwindles"

She started to walk away.

"See you later, Kakashi"

Kakashi waved and watched her as she left.

He couldn't help feeling guilty as he watched his crush go.

"If only you weren't Sensei's daughter…then maybe we could have been together" he mumbled.

He shook his head and went back to preparing for the party.

* * *

_Valentine's Day_

"Come on, Mikomi. Everyone is waiting for you!"

Yuri had managed to sucker everyone into going to the party. Since she couldn't find herself a date, she thought she would be better to bring her family instead.

The only ones who weren't going were Barret and Cid.

Barret wanted to spend his Valentine's Day with Marlene and offered to babysit the kids while everyone partied.

Mikomi was nice enough to let Cid use the Hansou Materia so he could spend his Valentine's Day with Shera.

Mikomi slowly came downstairs in the outfit Yuri picked for her.

It wasn't as bad as her Halloween costume, but it was still too revealing for her.

She wore a rose colored off shoulder shirt with a black mini skirt. She had black high heeled shoes that strapped up to her knees.

Her hair was curled and pulled back into pony tail. Her makeup was done nicely and gave her face a much older look to it.

Over all, she looked really cute and that pissed the guys off greatly.

"Damn it, Yuri. Did you have to make her look hot?" Jiraiya asked.

Sure, he was a pervert, but he had his morals.

Yuri just waved her off.

"Please, I made her look good so the guys would come flocking to her. Since I couldn't find anyone, I thought they would go to Mikomi"

Cloud had a ticked off look on his face.

Naruto just snickered as he saw his sister.

"Nee-chan is going to be popular tonight"

Cloud jus bashed him on the head.

"Shut up"

Naruto just rubbed the bump on his forehead.

Mikomi rolled her eyes and made it downstairs.

"I can't believe you tricked me into this"

"It's because you love me and you would do anything to please your godmother"

"Whatever"

She pulled out the chocolates that she made a while back.

"I figured that you guys want your chocolates?"

Naruto's eyes lit up.

"Yeah! I love your chocolate, Nee-chan! It's the only thing you're good at cooking with"

Mikomi put her brother into a head lock.

"What did you say about my cooking?" She asked with a creepy grin.

Naruto choked a little and panicked.

"I kid, I kid! You're an awesome cook! Please let me go"

She released him and let him catch his breath.

"I don't think you deserve this chocolate anymore" She said as she held up his chocolate.

Naruto jumped for it, but she just held it out of her reach.

"Hey! That's not nice, Nee-chan! I said I was sorry! Give me my chocolate!"

"I don't know if I should. You hurt my feelings after all"

"I take it back! I take it back! Now can I please have my chocolate?"

She sighed and plopped it into his hands.

Naruto had a creepy grin on his face and ran away to eat his chocolate.

Mikomi just shook her head and looked at her friends.

"I made you guys chocolate as well"

She handed them to her friends and stopped when she reached to Bakuto.

"Here you go, you damn dragon"

Bakuto eyed the chocolate.

"Is it poisonous?"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"NO! Why would I ruin something so good? If you don't want it then don't eat it"

Bakuto just looked at the chocolate then took it.

"I guess we can call it even since you ate my cooking. But don't think I'll do this again"

"Whatever"

Yuri got all antsy.

"Alright already. Let's go party!"

She pulled Mikomi by the arm and dragged her outside.

Cloud sighed and followed after them with Tifa in tow.

"Let's go before Yuri hurts someone" he said.

They all left the house and went to enjoy the festivities.

* * *

The party was really crazy when they got there.

Everyone went in their own directions and partied.

Mikomi smiled wistfully as she saw Cloud with Tifa and Bakuto with Yugito.

They looked so happy with their other half.

It made her feel happy that they were able to fall in love, yet it made her feel sad.

"_Everyone is with someone, but me"_

"Captain!"

Myou came running up to greet her captain.

She wore a powder blue dress that went down to her knees and had a slit at the side.

"Hey, Myou. Nice dress"

The Hyuga blushed.

"T-thank you. I made it myself"

Making clothing was Myou's hobby.

"You look really nice too, Captain"

She smiled at her lieutenant.

"Thanks, Myou. Oh! Before I forget"

She pulled out a chocolate heart.

"Happy Valentine's Day"

Myou's eyes sparkled as she grabbed the chocolate.

"Kyaa! You're famous homemade chocolate!"

She rubbed it against her face.

"I always look forward to your chocolate each year! They're so good I have withdrawls after words"

Mikomi grinned at her.

"I'm glad you love my chocolate"

She looked off into the distance to see Tifa hugging Cloud's arm. They looked so cute together.

Myou saw this and sighed.

"Aww man. I wish I had a boyfriend that loved me like that"

She hung her head sadly.

"I wish there was a guy out there waiting to sweep me away from my feet"

Mikomi patted her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Myou. I'm sure you'll find that guy one day"

Myou gave her a weak smile.

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm sure of it"

They talked for a bit until a couple of guys came up to them.

"Well, lookie here boys. We found ourselves a couple of cute chicks"

They all reeked with alcohol and swayed slightly.

Mikomi looked at them with disgust.

She wished that she could beat these guys to a bloody pulp, but there was a chakra barrier surrounding the party so no one could get hurt.

Myou hid behind Mikomi as they looked at her as if she was a piece of meat.

"Keep on walking guys. We don't want anything to do with you"

One of the guys just laughed and slung his arm around her.

"That's too bad, because we want to"

Mikomi gave Myou a look that told her to run.

The young Hyuga ran off and went to get help.

Mikomi glared at the drunk that was hanging on her.

* * *

Yuri swinged to the music that was playing. Her drink sloshed around as she moved her body.

Jiraiya was getting anywhere with the ladies so he decided to keep an eye on his cousin.

"God, I just love parties. It gives you the excuse to drink"

She took a swig from her drink and danced some more.

Cloud and Tifa came by holding hands.

"Hey guys. Are you having fun?" Jiraiya asked.

Tifa smiled.

"Your village sure knows how to party. Makes me wish I grew up here"

Yuri downed her drink.

"You're damn right that we know how to party! Everyone in Konoha loves to party!"

She did a little victory cheer before slouching over Jiraiya's arm.

"Has she been drinking again?" Cloud asked.

"Sadly, yes"

Cloud just sighed while Tifa giggled.

Myou ran up to them and had an urgent look on her face.

"I need your help! A couple of drunks were bugging us and they won't leave Captain alone!"

Cloud and Jiraiya's faces grew grim.

"Where are they?"

"Follow me; I'll take you to them"

Cloud looked at Tifa.

"I'll be back in a sec"

Tifa nodded in understanding.

"Give those guys hell, or else I'll do it"

He nodded and followed Myou with Jiraiya in tow.

Yuri hiccupped as she looked at her surroundings.

"Holy crap! Am I outside!?"

* * *

Mikomi tried to shove the drunk that was all over her.

His breath smelled like alcohol and it burned her nose.

"Come on baby, give me a kiss"

She shoved his face away from her when he leaned in for a kiss.

"Get away from me. You want to kiss a Jinchuriki?" She said, hopping that would make him back away.

The drunk just laughed.

"Aw, that doesn't matter. It's the season of love, so why not spread it around. Now pucker up buttercup"

He puckered up his lips and dove in for a kiss.

Mikomi clenched her eyes tight and tried to shove the drunk away.

She felt someone lift her and pulled her away from the lecherous drunk.

Kakashi grabbed her and lifted her on his arm while he decked the drunk in the face.

"Beat it" He said deadly serious.

The drunk staggered a bit but regained his balance. He glared at the copy ninja.

"Hey, man. She's mine. Get your own girl"

Mikomi held onto Kakashi's neck so she wouldn't fall. Kakashi kept a firm grip on her with his arm.

"Sorry, but she's mine"

The drunk didn't back down and called his friends over.

"Well, it's three against one. Now either hand her over, or I'll-"

"You'll do what?"

The drunk turned around to see Cloud and Jiraiya. Both wore grim expressions as they looked at the drunk and his friends.

Cloud looked at Mikomi for a moment and felt his blood boil as he saw how Kakashi was holding her. He decided to take that anger out on the drunks instead.

Kakashi grinned as he saw them.

"Well, then. I'll leave these guys to you then"

He walked away while he still held Mikomi. She blushed when he didn't let her go.

Cloud was about to say something, but Jiraiya stopped him.

"Leave him for later. Right now, it's time to show these guys some lessons"

Cloud nodded and grabbed the drunk by his shirt.

"You and I are going to have a long talk"

He cracked his knuckles as he prepared for what he was about to do.

* * *

"Kakashi, you can put me down now"

Kakashi shook his head as he continued to carry her.

"Nope. I don't want anyone trying to whisk you away from me again. I must say, you sure do know how to attract some unusual people"

Mikomi blushed and just held onto him so she wouldn't fall.

He finally put her down he stopped by a bridge.

She fixed her outfit before looking at him.

"Thanks for helping me" she mumbled.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his head.

"It was nothing. I just couldn't leave a poor, defenseless beauty by herself like that"

Mikomi blushed a little.

Kakashi brushed the hair out of her face.

"I must say, you look really lovely tonight. I take it Yuri did your make up?"

She nodded.

"She said that this would be a way for me to attract guys"

"Well, she was right. I'm attracted to your beauty, but then again, I find you attracted without makeup"

Mikomi was at a loss of words.

Why did he have to say such the sweetest things?

She went to turn around to hide her blushing and ended up twisting her foot.

Kakashi caught her before she feel.

"Easy there"

He lifted her up and placed her on the railing of the bridge.

"You're a real klutz, you know that?"

Mikomi blushed.

"S-sorry. I'm just not used to wearing heels like these"

"That's understandable. You do tend to wear standardize clothing"

Mikomi fiddled with her shirt.

"Oh! I almost forgot"

She pulled out her chocolate that she made for him.

"I know you don't like sweets, but I thought you would like something nice"

Kakashi held the chocolate heart in his hand.

"Ah, you're famous chocolate. I heard that it's to die for"

His eye curled up.

"I don't mind getting sweets from the sweetest. Thank you"

Mikomi blushed and bowed her head.

"Hey, Kakashi"

"Yeah?"

She peered at him through her bangs.

"Why are you always saying nice things to me like that?"

Kakashi blinked for a moment before he laughed.

"That's simple" He sat on the railing with her and held her hand.

"I just like seeing you blush like that. It makes you look really cute"

Mikomi shyly looked away from him for a moment.

He turned her head around with his finger so she could look at him.

"There's nothing to be shy about. You look really cute"

Mikomi's face was dusted a shade of pink.

She didn't realize that she was slowly inching her head towards his. She closed her eyes when he touched her face and brought it closer.

"Oh! Mikomi's going to get a kiss from her crush!" Usagi squealed.

"_You go girl!" _Aerith added.

They were centimeters apart. Their lips almost touching.

"_Please don't let this be a dream"_

* * *

Jiraiya tied up the last of the drunks.

They were all black and blue from the beating Cloud gave them.

"I think you over did it, Cloud"

Cloud just cracked his neck as he stretched out his tired muscles.

"They deserved it for hitting on Mikomi like that. Speaking of which"

He turned to Myou, who was hiding from the fighting.

"Can you find her for us? I want to make sure that damn scarecrow isn't doing anything to her"

Myou nodded and activated her Byakugan.

"Just give me a sec….Found her!"

She blushed a bit when she saw her captain.

"Oh my!"

"What is it?" Jiraiya asked.

"It looks like she's about to be kissed by Kakashi Hatake"

That set Cloud off.

"Oh hell no!"

He in the direction that Myou was looking and found the bride in no time.

He arrived just as they were about to kiss each other.

"Mikomi!"

* * *

Mikomi jolted in surprise.

She lost her balance and ended up falling off the ledge and into the lake. Kakashi went to grab her and ended up falling with as well.

"Way to go, Cloud" Jiraiya said sarcastically.

Cloud didn't pay any attention to him and was glaring at Kakashi.

"You! Get away from Mikomi!"

Mikomi sat up and spit out the water that went into her mouth.

Her makeup was running down her face and her hair came out.

"Captain!" Myou ran down the bridge and went near the edge of the lake.

Jiraiya went into the water and picked his goddaughter. He noticed that her shirt was sticking to her skin and revealing her figure.

"Decided not to wear a bra tonight?" he joked.

Mikomi glared at him and decked him in the face.

Myou wadded into the water and went to check if her captain was alright.

"Are you alright, Captain?"

"I'm fine" she said.

She glared at Cloud.

"God damn it, Cloud! Can't I have a little privacy?"

"Not when this perv is around. Seriously, you don't know where he's been. You better wash your mouth out when we get home"

"He didn't even kiss me, thanks to you!"

Kakashi got out of the water and went to Mikomi. His usually gravity defying hair slumped over his face.

"Sorry about that. I would have caught you, but I was surprised as well"

Mikomi gave him a sweet smile.

"It's fine. You didn't mean it"

She glared at Cloud.

"But I'm sure he did"

She shivered from the cold air.

"Alright. Looks like someone needs to go home and get out of these wet clothes" Jiraiya said.

He walked away with Mikomi in his arms.

Kakashi waved as they left.

"See ya, Mikomi. Maybe next time we can finish this off"

"There won't be a next time, you creep!" Cloud retorted.

Mikomi just punched him in the arm when they passed him.

"Thanks a lot you jerk" she hissed.

"Next time you go to kiss Tifa, I'll be sure to ruin it"

Jiraiya just took her home before she got sick from taking a dip in the lake.

* * *

Mikomi huffed as she towel dried her hair.

"I can't believe Cloud"

She tugged on her bath robe as she stomped over to her hamper.

Cat Sith and Nanaki were sitting on her bed as they watched her pace around her room.

Cat Sith was munching on his chocolate.

"Relax, Mikomi. Tifa punished him when she found out"

"That's not the point. I was about to be kissed by the man that I love and he ruined it!. Why does he have to be so protective?"

"It just shows how much you mean to him" Red Xlll said.

"You're a sister to him and he just wants to keep you safe"

"I understand that, but he needs to know self control"

She sat on her bed and crossed her arms.

"I was so looking forward to that kiss and now I'll never get it"

She hung her head sadly.

"Why does my life suck sometimes?"

She heard something tapping on her window.

"Huh?"

She turned around to find Kakashi sitting on the tree branch that was out by her window.

Her eyes went wide.

"Kakashi?"

She ran up to the window and opened it.

"What are you doing here?"

The scarecrow blushed.

"I felt bad that our little date ended badly like that and I wanted to see if you were alright. I also forgot to give you this"

He held out a small box with a white ribbon on it.

Mikomi gingerly took it from him and opened it.

Inside, she found a heart necklace with an arrow going through it that was made out of diamonds.

Mikomi's eyes went wide.

"Kakashi" She breathed.

"I just wanted to give you something nice"

She looked at him and smiled at him softly.

"Thank you, that was so sweet"

She rubbed her head nervously.

"I'm sorry about Cloud. He can be a real handful"

"Don't worry about it, I know he was just looking out for you"

He stood up a little.

"I should get going. Don't want Cloud to find me by your window"

Mikomi blushed but nodded.

He went to leave but stopped for a second.

"Oh, I almost forgot"

He bent down and gave her a light peck on the lips.

"Now you could say that I kissed you"

He waved and left her standing by her window.

Mikomi touched her lips.

"_He kissed me!"_

She quickly looked at Cat Sith and Nanaki.

"Please don't tell anyone about this"

Nanaki gave her a wise grin.

"Your secret is safe with us"

She smiled softly at them.

"Thanks guys"

She closed the window and went to bed.

"Today was a long day" she said.

She closed her eyes and held Cat Sith while Nanaki layed by her feet.

She held the necklace that Kakashi gave her as she slept.

She didn't even realize that Kakashi came back that night to leave her bouquet of roses by her windowsill with a note reading.

"_To my ray of hope"_

* * *

**A/N: Phew! That was a long chapter! **

**I hope you guys enjoyed it. I wanted to do a little romantic chapter to our tale.**

**Remember to send in your reviews!**

**Ja ne**


	40. The Great Champion

Chapter 40: The Great Champion

**A/N: Here's the next chapter to our favorite story. I should warn you that this chapter may be short, but the next one will be long, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Usagi, and Yuri while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

* * *

The crowd went wild. No one thought that Naruto would be strong enough to beat a Hyuga. Everyone was clapping and whistling in approval.

Yuffie jumped from her seat.

"Yes! Naruto won!"

"Way to go Naruto!" Barret yelled.

Cid whistled.

Red Xlll gave off a howl in approval.

Cat Sith jumped all over the place.

"That's my boy, Naruto. You're the chips and cream!"

Tifa was laughing as she clapped.

"That's our Naruto"

Myou and Yugito were screaming really loudly as they did a victory cheer.

"Go Naruto!"

Denzel and Marlene were jumping up and down.

"He did it! He won!"

Bakuto wore a proud grin.

"Way to go Naruto. You showed your sister up"

Cloud and Vincent just clapped, but wore proud grins on their faces.

Yuri outdid them all by standing in her seat and doing a victory dance.

"Oh yeah! Whose godson just beat up the Hyuga? Mine did! Who's got the coolest godson? I do!"

She continued to do her little victory dance.

* * *

Down below, Naruto was running around and basking in all of the positive attention.

He blew kisses to the crowd as he went.

As he ran, he managed to spot his sister within the crowd.

He laughed as he waved at her.

"Nee-Chan! Nee-Chan, I did it! I won!"

* * *

Mikomi felt a tear run down her cheek as she clapped for her brother.

She was beyond happy that he won, but was she was even happier that he was alive.

"Woo Hoo! Go Naruto!" Usagi cried as she did a football cheer.

"_Hurray! Naruto won!" _Aerith cried.

Mikomi was glad that they were cheering Naruto on as well.

Yuri tackled her in a head lock and gave her a noggie.

"Can you believe it, 'Komi-chan? Our little Naru-kun won! Oh, I bet your parents would be so proud"

Mikomi smiled at that.

She was absolutely sure that Minato and Kushina would be thrilled.

She remembered when she passed the Chunin Exams.

_Flashback: 14 years ago_

_Mikomi looked at the Chunin vest that was just handed to her by the proctor. _

_The heavy fabric felt comfortable within her grasp._

_She smiled as she ran her fingers over the vest pockets._

_Obito came up from behind and pulled her into a bear hug._

"_Way to go, Mikomi-Chan!"_

_She laughed as her teammate continued to hug her._

_Kakashi put his new vest on right away. _

_He managed to pass the exams as well._

_He and Mikomi were the only ones from the leaf village to be promoted to Chunin. _

"_Congratulations, Mikomi" He said._

_Even though he tried to sound formal, he still had a blush appear over his mask._

_Mikomi smiled sweetly at her teammate._

"_Congrats to you too, Kakashi-kun"_

_Kakashi's blush deepened._

_Minato and Kushina came over to them._

_Kushina picked her daughter up and started cuddling her._

"_Oh my god! My baby girl is already a Chunin and she's not even 6 yet!"_

_Mikomi nuzzled into her mother's embrace. She always loved getting affection from her._

_Minato had anime tears in his eyes as he looked at his daughter._

"_My baby is so grownup" He mumbled._

_He snatched her from Kushina and pressed her into his chest._

"_I'm not ready for this!" He cried. _

"_I don't want to see my baby girl grow up yet!"_

_He rubbed his face against hers. _

_Kakashi and Obito just sweat dropped as they watched their Sensei. They were used to seeing Minato suddenly grow affectionate over his daughter, but they still though it was weird._

_Minato quickly composed himself and set Mikomi back on her feet._

"_I'm really proud of you, sweetie"_

_He turned to his other students._

"_I'm proud of all of you. You fought very hard today and have brought great honor to our village"_

_Kakashi had a smug look on his face as he looked at Obito._

"_Now that means you have to do as I say"_

_Obito got angry at that._

"_Shut up! Just because you're a Chunin now, doesn't mean I have to listen to you!"_

"_Don't forget that I'm a Chunin too" Mikomi added._

_Obito gave her a goofy grin._

"_Of course I wouldn't forget about you, Mikomi-chan. I'll do whatever you say"_

_He glared at Kakashi._

"_But not you!"_

_Mikomi had to laugh. _

_Obito was so funny when he acted like that._

* * *

_Yuri did a few victory cheers as she and Jiraiya came to them._

"_Oh Yeah! Whose Goddaughter got promoted to Chunin? Mine did! Who has the coolest goddaughter? I do!"_

_Jiraiya picked Mikomi up and placed her on his shoulders._

"_Make way for the champion!" he cheered._

_He marched around their group._

_Yuri pumped her fists in the air._

"_We are so going to celebrate! We're going to party like there's no tomorrow!"_

_Mikomi grew excited._

_She loved going to parties._

"_We are?!" She said excitedly._

_Everyone laughed._

"_Of course we are" Kushina laughed._

"_It's not every day that we get new Chunin's"_

_Everyone laughed as they left to celebrate, and in Yuri's case, get smashed._

_End Flashback_

A smile spread across her lips.

She looked up at the sky in thought.

"_Mom…Dad…I hope you're proud of Naruto"_

A couple birds flew across the sky.

Somehow, she felt that they heard her.

* * *

**A/N: I know this is short, but bear with me. I wanted to at least add another chapter before I enter into the dark realm of tests. (Shudders) **

**Remember to send in those reviews, and please check out my side stories that I posted for this one, I'm desperate for reviews on them.**

**Hopefully, I'll be able to post the next one by this weekend, so stay tuned.**

**Ja ne**


	41. Sasuke Forfeits?

Chapter 41: Sasuke forfeits?

**A/N: Hey everyone, I know it's been a while, but school has been hectic. I managed to get some time to write in the next chapter before things got crazy again. I have a huge History test that I need to worry about and I'm not looking forward to it. Anyway, let's get back to the story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The cheering died down when Naruto left the stadium. People were getting excited for the next match to start.

Garra was supposed to go up against Sasuke next. The only problem was that Sasuke wasn't there.

After a couple of minutes, people started complaining.

"What's going on? Hurry up and start the next match!!"

"How long are you going to make us wait, huh?!"

* * *

"What's going on?" Myou asked.

Mikomi just shrugged.

"I have no idea"

She could see Naruto jumping from his spot in the waiting area. He was just as confused as everyone and really anxious.

"I guess he wants to see chicken ass fight" Usagi said.

Mikomi looked at Garra. He was just standing there, looking as calm as a cucumber. Yet for some reason, she could feel this evil aura emanating from him. She could even feel Usagi shaking from within her cell.

"_This guy is bad news, I just know it" _

She knew that from when she met the sand ninja for the first time.

She wondered if the others could sense anything from this mysterious sand ninja.

* * *

The crowd was starting to get worse.

People started 'booing' as they continued waiting for the next match to start.

Even the other candidates were starting to get jumpy.

Naruto was the worse. He gripped the hand rails as he looked at the empty battle arena.

"_Where the hell is he?" _he thought.

"_If he doesn't hurry up, he'll be disqualified!"_

He silently prayed that his rival would make it before it was too late.

* * *

"That pain in the ass sure is taking his sweet time" Cid said as he stuck a cigarette in his mouth.

"I wonder what's the hold up?"

"Maybe he's being fashionably late?" Yuffie suggested.

Cid just rolled his eyes.

"Either way" Bakuto said. "If he doesn't show up soon, he's going to be disqualified"

"I wonder if he got cold feet or something?" Tifa said.

Yuri snorted.

"Please! Sasuke is an Uchiha, and Uchiha's are known to be very stubborn. There's no way Sasuke would miss this match. He's just trying to be a show off and arriving at the last minute, the little brat"

Mikomi didn't say anything.

She just looked at the empty fighting arena and wondered where in the world was Kakashi and Sasuke.

The last time she saw either of them was around 2 weeks ago.

_Flashback:_

_Mikomi walked through the streets of the village with 2 bento boxes in hand._

_Tifa was kind enough to make some for Naruto and Jiraiya to eat, but it would seem that she made too many of them. _

_Feeling that it would be a waste to toss the leftover boxes, she decided to give them to Kakashi and Sasuke._

"_You trying to impress lover boy?" __Usagi said slyly._

_Mikomi just ignored her inner demon and went along to her destitution._

"_**How do you even know where he's at?" **__Aeirth asked. __**"Everyone in the village is looking for him"**_

'_I have my ways' she replied to her Cetra friend. 'There's only one place that Kakashi would train at when he doesn't want to be bothered and that's the outskirts of town'_

"_**Oh, you sure are clever"**_

'_It helps when your teammate likes to be sneaky'_

_She walked along, not really paying attention to where she was going._

_She bumped into someone as she walked by._

"_Sorry!" she said as she turned around._

_She wished that she didn't because she felt her blood run cold when she saw who she ran into._

_Garra just gave her a cold and emotionless stare._

_He just looked at her with those foam green eyes of his and nodded his head to let her know he accepted her apology._

_He walked off in a slow leisurely pace while he left Mikomi standing._

_She couldn't stop the chills that ran down her spine._

'_That guy gives me the creeps' she thought._

"_I'm with you on that, even I'm freaked out and never get afraid of anything….except for bunnies" __Usagi said_

"_**The planet is reacting negatively to his aura, something is very wrong with that boy. You better keep your guard up around him, Mikomi" **__Aeirth added._

_Mikomi agreed with her friends and went back to giving Kakashi his lunch._

_Her main focus now was to make sure Cloud didn't find out about this or else her childhood crush would become his next dummy for training._

* * *

_It didn't take her long to find the training field._

_The area was barren waste land of rocks._

_It was a total chance in scenery from the main region of the hidden leaf village._

_She didn't have to look too hard to find Kakashi and Sasuke. She just had to follow the trail of broken rocks and boulders to know where she was going._

_She found them in a matter of minutes. _

_Sasuke looked like he was trying to perform some sort of lightning jutsu and aimed it at a huge rock._

"_Looks like Kakashi is teaching him the lightning blade" __Usagi said._

_She walked over to them and held the bento boxes to her chest._

_Kakashi spotted her as she got closer._

_His eye curled up to show that he was smiling as he was waving._

"_Hey, Mikomi. What brings you here?"_

_Mikomi made sure she wasn't blushing as she looked at him._

'_Why does he have to be so handsome?' she thought._

_She didn't say anything and held the bento boxes out in front of him._

"_Tifa made some bento's for us and we had a few extra. I thought you would be hungry from training so I came to bring you some"_

_Kakashi looked at the boxes that were thrust into his face then at her._

_He smiled at her as he took the boxes from her._

"_Thank you. That was really sweet of you"_

_Mikomi didn't say anything and just looked away to prevent herself from blushing anymore than she was now._

_She watched as Sasuke rammed another lightning blade into a wall and created another hole._

"_Are you teaching him lightning blade?"_

"_Yeah, he's up against that sand ninja, so I want him to be prepared for anything"_

_Sasuke breathed heavily as he tried to perform the jutsu again._

"_That's enough, Sasuke. Don't overdo it"_

_Sasuke glared at his sensei._

"_I can still go on. Don't tell what I can and can't do!"_

_Kakashi sighed and rubbed him neck._

"_He's been really crabby since I got him out of the hospital"_

_Mikomi just looked at Sasuke as he continued to perform the justu but failed miserably._

'_Geez, he's just like Naruto with his training' she thought._

_She just sighed and walked up to him. _

_She got behind him and whacked him right upside the head._

_He grabbed his head and glared at Mikomi. _

"_What the hell was that for?!"_

_Mikomi just glared at him._

"_Take a break, chicken head. You've pretty much drained up your chakra. If you try to perform any justu, you'll just wind up dead"_

_Sasuke glared at her._

"_You're not my mom. Don't tell me what to do"_

_An evil grin spread over Mikomi's face as she heard that. Whenever Naruto said that to her, she would just snap. _

"_You're right, I'm not your mom" she said 'sweetly'._

_She suddenly grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pulled him up to his eye level._

"_I'm much worse" _

_Sasuke felt a shiver go down his spine as he looked into her hard green eyes. Something told him that he had to be very afraid right now._

"_Now listen here, Sasuke. You may be an Uchiha and you may be stronger than most genin, but I could care less about crap like that"_

_She shook him like a rag doll and chewed him out some more._

"_You think that just because you're a prodigy that means you don't have to listen to what your sensei says? You think you know better than him when it comes to training? Do you?"_

_She stopped shaking him and watched as his eyes spin._

"_Now you get rid of that smart ass complex of yours right now or I'll make sure that the Uchiha line is wiped away completely"_

_She dropped him to the floor and watched as he went down like a ton of bricks._

"_Now I was nice enough to bring you food since I figured you didn't eat yet. You be a good little boy and eat your bento box and rest for a bit before you go back to training"_

_Sasuke glared at her._

"_Don't tell me what to do" he snapped._

_Mikomi summoned up her lightning whip and hit a giant boulder that was next to her. It zapped as it made impact and turned into dust after it exploded._

_Sasuke's eyes were as big as saucers. He didn't know she could perform a jutsu like that._

"_If you don't want to end up like that boulder, then you better do as I say"_

_Kakashi came over and handed him a bento box._

_Sasuke looked at it then back at Mikomi._

"_I don't want to eat right now"_

_Mikomi snapped her whip and glared at him._

"_SIT YOUR ASS DOWN AND EAT YOUR GOD DAMN LUCNH!!!" she snapped like Cid would._

_Sasuke immediately sat down and started eating his food._

_Kakashi chuckled as he looked at his teammate. _

"_You're amazing Mikomi. It takes at least an hour to convince him to rest, but you only did it in five minutes. I'm impressed"_

_Mikomi just crossed her arms as she made sure Sasuke ate his meal._

"_I just don't take crap from people like him. He should know it can't always be about him"_

"_True, true. He needs to think about others than himself"_

_He gave her a small grin._

_Mikomi just blushed and looked away._

* * *

_When Sasuke finished his lunch, he looked at Mikomi._

"_I ate my lunch, now can I train?"_

"_No. You need to rest your body as well. You can't push yourself like that"_

_Sasuke gave her a dirty look._

"_Listen you"_

_Mikomi pulled out her lightning whip out and snapped it. _

_Sasuke freaked out and sat down._

_Kakashi chuckled._

"_Nicely done"_

_Mikomi put her whip away and crossed her arms._

"_No body fucks with me" she mumbled._

* * *

_When Sasuke rested up a bit, he was finally able to train a bit more._

_Mikomi sat next to Kakashi as they watched him ram his lightning jutsu into the wall._

"_He's not getting real far, is he?"_

"_No, but I'm sure it'll be worth it in the end"_

_Mikomi didn't say anything and just sighed._

_She suddenly felt someone's chakra nearby and looked to see Garra walking over towards them._

_Kakashi saw this as well._

"_Stay here" he said as he stood up. _

_He walked over to Sasuke and almost acted like a barrier for his student._

_Garra talked to them for a bit, but Mikomi couldn't make out what he was saying._

'_why is he here? Did he follow me?'_

"_I don't think so. It looks like he's been here before with the way he came here" __Usagi said._

_Mikomi just watched as they talked some more. _

_Garra left a few minutes later, but as he walked away, his eyes turned to Mikomi._

_He gave her this creepy grin as he left._

_Shivers went down her spine when he left and they didn't leave for the rest of the day._

_End Flashback_

Ever since that day, she didn't see Kakashi or Sasuke at all.

"_That Garra kid didn't do anything to him, did he?"_

She certainly hoped not.

He may have annoyed her at times, but he was still her brother's teammate, so she was worried about him.

It seemed like Genma was talking with one of Sarutobi's bodyguards and nodded as he said something.

* * *

Genma faced the audience as he got word of the situation at hand.

"Everyone! One of the contenders for the match has not arrived yet. So this match will be postponed and we will proceed with the next scheduled match!"

* * *

This caused mixed reactions from the crowd.

Some were confused, some were relieved.

"Looks like pretty boy got his ass saved" Barret said.

"It would seem so" Vincent replied.

"That brat is so spoiled, it's beyond crazy" Bakuto said.

Mikomi didn't say anything.

"So Sasuke is saved for now, huh?"

"_That's not too bad"_

Mikomi didn't know what to think.

Sure she was glad that Sasuke wasn't disqualified, but something about this made her uneasy.

She just shook her head and just focused on the next match that was to start.

Hopefully, this would keep her mind of the chicken head for a while.

* * *

**A/N: So Sasuke is saved huh? But will it be worth it? Find out in the next chapter and remember to review!**

**Ja ne**


	42. Tohru

Chapter 42: Tohru

**A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you're all ready to meet one of Mikomi's squad members in the Anbu unit. Please don't flame me if you don't like it. You'll find out why shortly.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

**Enjoy!**

* * *

The next match that was to start was between Shikamaru and Temari.

Cid was really looking forward to this match since had a liking to Shikamaru.

Mikomi, Myou and Yuri all knew that this match would end soon since the boy didn't have a single backbone in his body.

"The boy is smart, but he's as lazy as a slug"

"_Nice analogy, Usagi"_

"It's true"

She looked around the stadium. There weren't a lot of Anbu Black Ops around. They were supposed to surround the area and make sure nothing happened to the audience.

She looked at Myou.

Her lieutenant must have been thinking the same thing because she had the same nervous look on her face as well.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Myou nodded.

"The arena is never this bare of Black ops"

"I don't know what Sarutobi is thinking. It's dangerous to have it this bare, especially with Orochimaru running around"

She snapped her fingers, which caught everyone's attention.

An Anbu wearing a tiger mask appeared seconds later.

"You called, Captain?"

Mikomi smiled.

"Hey, Tohru. I need to ask you for a favor"

Tohru pulled off the mask.

The Anbu revealed a face that looked as if it was carved by angels.

Brown curly hair framed a heart shaped face.

Blue eyes sparkled within the sunlight.

Lips as pink as a peach.

Overall, Tohru was a very beautiful person.

Myou eagerly waved as she saw their 3rd seat.

"Hi, Tohru-kun! You're looking beautiful as ever"

Tohru smiled at her.

"You flatter me so, Lieutenant Myou. My beauty pales compare to yours and Captain Mikomi's"

Bakuto raised an eyebrow.

"_Tohru-kun? Don't they mean Tohru-chan?"_

The 3rd seat waved at Mikomi's friends.

"Hi, everyone"

They all waved back.

They had meet Mikomi's 3rd seat before.

Mikomi quickly got to the heart of the situation.

"Hey Tohru. Can you round up the squad and have them guard the stadium? There's so little of them around here that it's making me uneasy.

Tohru smiled.

"Anything for you, Captain"

The 3rd seat was about to leave when Bakuto and Yugito caught the Anbu's eye.

"Oh my, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Tohru Zeaguchi, pleased to meet you"

Yugito smiled.

"I'm Yugito Nii and this is my boyfriend, Bakuto Masaki"

Bakuto nodded.

"Nice to meet you Miss. Zeaguchi"

Tohru burst out laughing.

"'Miss'? Please, just call me Tohru-kun"

"But 'kun' is something you would say to a boy" Bakuto said.

"I know"

"Huh?"

Tohru smiled before leaving.

* * *

Bakuto was beyond confused.

Why would a girl wanted to be called 'kun' instead of 'chan'?

Myou sighed wistfully.

"It's hard to believe that Tohru is prettier than me, even though he's a guy"

That shocked Bakuto and Yugito.

"Boy?! Tohru's a boy?!"

Mikomi nodded.

"Yeah. Everyone in our squad is a boy save for Myou and I"

Yugito blushed.

"But…he looks just like a girl. He's so pretty"

"That's because Tohru likes to look like a girl" Yuri said.

"He usually cross dresses when he's off duty"

Tifa giggled.

"He looks a lot better in a dress then when Cloud wore one"

Cloud's eye twitched as he recalled the Don Coreno incident.

"Quiet"

Mikomi giggled as she remembered that story.

She stopped laughing when she saw the looks on Bakuto and Yugito's faces.

"What? Do you have a thing against cross dressers?"

Yugito quickly composed himself.

"N-no. It's just that we've never seen a cross dresser who looked so beautiful before"

She elbowed Bakuto in the side when he didn't get rid of his stunned look.

He rubbed his side as he looked at his rival.

"Only you could attract strange people"

Mikomi shrugged.

"Well, I'm letting you live at my house, so it must be true"

A tick mark appeared on his forehead.

"Why you little!"

Yugito held her boyfriend down before he could do anything.

"Anyway, how did you meet Tohru-san?"

Myou giggled as she recalled the day that they meet their 3rd seat while Mikomi sweat dropped.

"Well…."

* * *

_Flashback: one year ago_

_Myou giggled as she and her captain left the Anbu bar racks._

"_Geez, Captain. You sure showed those rookies whose boss"_

_Mikomi had a tick mark on her forehead._

"_Those little brats should know better than to talk poorly to their superior. I swear, all of those guys were looking at my boobs the whole time I was saying my introduction speech. What a couple of little perverts"_

"_Well, our squad is the only male squad with a female Captain and Lieutenant. What else are they going to be thinking of? It's not every day that you get assigned to a pretty captain"_

"_You're flattery amazes me sometimes, Myou"_

_Myou gave her a mock curtsey._

_They were both out of their uniforms and were walking in their casual wear._

_Mikomi wore her red tube top and a pair of black gaucho pants with black flip flops while Myou wore a periwinkle top with a blue skirt and teal flip flops._

_Both were one of Myou's latest creations._

"_I'm so glad that you're wearing my outfit, Captain. It looks so good on you"_

"_Yeah, well this is the only outfit that you've ever made that isn't girly"_

"_You should wear more girly stuff, you would look so cute"_

_She nudged her in the side._

"_I bet Kakashi would like to see you in a dress too"_

_Mikomi's face went red._

"_Myou!"_

_They Hyuga just laughed at her captain._

"_You're so funny when you get embarrassed. You're fine when a couple of subordinates talk about your cleavage, but when it comes to Kakashi-san, you get as red as a tomato"_

_Mikomi just growled as they continued walking._

* * *

_After walking for a bit, Myou's stomach began to growl._

"_Captain, can we stop somewhere to eat before we head home. I'm starving"_

"_That's fine. Yuri said she was making her chicken noodle casserole, so I want to eat something before I head home"_

_Myou shuddered at the mention of Yuri's cooking._

"_As much as I respect and admire Lady Yuri, I have to say that she is the worst cook that I've ever meet"_

_Mikomi nodded in agreement._

"_She may be an awesome medic and fighter, but when it comes to cooking, she simply fails"_

_Both girls shuddered as they recalled all of the foods that Yuri made for them in the past._

_They were so caught up in their own little world that they didn't realize that they bumped into someone until the last second._

_A girl fell on her butt and dropped a bag she was carrying. Beads came out and scattered all over the place._

"_Oh no!" The girl cried._

_Mikomi and Myou quickly got down to their knees and started picking up the beads._

"_I'm really sorry about this" Mikomi said as she picked up a handful of beads._

"_My lieutenant and I weren't looking where we were going"_

_Myou handed the beads to the girl._

"_Hopefully they aren't scratched"_

_The girl pushed back a waved of curly brown locks out of her face and looked at them._

_She looked really pretty and wore dark makeup that made her blue eyes stand out._

_She wore a frilly white top with matching Capris. She wore white high heeled shoes that Yuri would die to have._

_The girl blushed as Myou handed her the beads._

"_T-thank you, I didn't mean to run into any…"_

_She blushed when she looked at Mikomi._

"…_Big breasted beauty"_

_Mikomi dead panned while Myou tried to hold back her laughter._

'_Why is everyone obsessed with my boobs?' she thought_

'_I'm not as big as Yuri or Tsunade'_

"_True. But you're breasts are bigger than most girls your age. You have the jugs that any girl would kill for"_

'_Shut up, Usagi!'_

_The girl blushed furiously and waved her hands defensively._

"_I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I blurted out my honest impression even though I just met you! Please don't misjudge me! I'm not obsessed with big boobs! I do love beautiful women though! And a fine body causes for a celebration! Actually! Banzai for top boobies!"_

_Myou couldn't hold it in any longer and fell to the floor laughing while pounding the ground with her fist._

_Mikomi just looked at the girl strangely while she sweat dropped._

'_This chick is really weird'_

"_You got that right, big breasted beauty" _

* * *

_The girls found themselves sitting at a smoothie shop with this strange girl. _

_She continued to blush as she looked at them._

"_I really am sorry about before" she said._

"_I tend to speak out before I think. I hope I didn't offend you in any way"_

_Mikomi just waved it off._

"_It's cool. You just took me by surprise when you called me a big breasted beauty"_

_The girl laughed nervously._

"_Anyway, I hope you can accept my apology in buying you smoothies"_

"_You don't really have to. This place is really expensive from what I've heard"_

_The girl waved her hand._

"_Nonsense. My family owns this shop. I can get them for free"_

"_Really?"_

_She nodded._

"_Oh! I didn't even introduce myself. I'm Tohru Zeaguchi"_

_They both nodded their heads in acknowledgement. _

"_I'm Mikomi Uzumaki"_

"_And I'm Myou Hyuga"_

_Tohru smiled at them._

"_It's nice to meet you Mikomi and Tohru"_

_A waiter handed them their smoothies._

_Mikomi got strawberry banana. Myou got tangerine mango and Tohru got raspberry watermelon._

_Mikomi sipped on her drink for a moment._

"_You're last name sounds really familiar" she said._

"_Yeah, does your family by some chance own Zeaguchi industries?" Myou asked._

_Tohru nodded._

"_That's right. My family owns half of the stores that are within the village. They also own the weapon manufacturing industry as well"_

_Myou whistled in approval._

"_Wow. You must be loaded with all of the money your dad is making"_

_Mikomi elbowed her in the ribs._

"_Myou"_

_Tohru laughed._

"_That's alright. Although I actually don't talk to my dad or my mom for that matter"_

"_Really? You in some kind of a fight?"_

_Tohru shrugged._

"_You could say that. Apparently I don't fit up to my parents expectations as the heir to the Zeaguchi title"_

"_I know how that feels" Myou said._

_Tohru sighed sadly and looked at the table._

"_I'm just not the son material that my parents expected to have" she mumbled. _

_Mikomi choked on her drink._

"_Son!?"_

_Tohru covered 'her' mouth quickly._

"_You're a guy?!" Myou squealed._

_Mikomi elbowed her again and told her to be quiet._

_She studied Tohru more thoroughly and noticed that 'she' had a more manly structure and had an Adam's apple._

"_Damn, he's hot for a drag queen"_

'_Shut up, Usagi!'_

_Tohru bowed his head in shame._

"_Great. I have a few more people to judge me" he mumbled._

_Mikomi recognized that look. It was the same look she would wear whenever someone was talking bad about her or giving her a dirty look._

_A look like that didn't belong to such a pretty face, even if it belonged to a male._

_She reached out and placed her hand over his._

"_Don't be like that. You just surprised us, that's all"_

_Myou nodded in agreement._

"_Yeah, we actually thought you were a girl. You look way to pretty to be a boy"_

_Tohru looked at them through his bangs._

"_Really? You're not freaked out by this or anything?"_

_Mikomi gave him a gentle smile._

"_Trust me, I've seen some freaky shit in my time as an Anbu, and there's nothing wrong with this"_

"_Yeah, I'm more jealous that a guy looks hotter than me. And you have a better taste in fashion than I do" Myou added._

_Tohru giggled slightly._

"_R-really?"_

"_Sure. There's nothing wrong with being different. Just look at me" Mikomi said as she indicated to herself._

"_I'm surprised that you're not afraid of me like everyone else in this village"_

_Tohru gave her a sheepish grin._

"_I'm not really from this village, so I don't really know what you're talking about. But you seem like a really nice person"_

"_Well at least someone agrees with me" Myou said._

_Mikomi smiled softy._

_They continued drinking their smoothies and talked about each other._

"_So Tohru, why do you dress like a girl if you don't mind me asking" Myou said._

_Mikomi gave her a warning glare but Tohru waved her off._

"_I just feel more comfortable wearing dresses and frilly outfits. Back when I was growing up, my father was always away on business, so it was just my mother and I. She always liked to dress up in pretty dresses that I started to find myself wearing them too. I felt at peace whenever I wore something with frills and lace. But my father didn't approve of it and told me that if I want to inherit to the Zeaguchi fortune, then I needed to stop wearing such foolish outfits and become a man"_

"_And I take it that you didn't listen?"_

"_Nope" _

_Myou cheered._

"_Woo hoo! Another noble rebel!"_

_Tohru blushed._

"_So what did your parents do when you didn't stop wearing dresses?"_

"_They kicked me out. But I live with my aunt and uncle and they support my tastes. They're fashion artists and always believed that everyone should express their inner beauty"_

_Myou's eyes lit up._

"_Fashion designers? "She squealed._

"_I love fashion! I always make my own outfits and dresses. What do your aunt and uncle do?"_

"_They run the Yura fashion line"_

_Myou spit her smoothie out in Mikomi's face._

"_Yura?! You mean your aunt and uncle are Shiro and Kuzo Yura?!"_

_(A/N: The Yura line is line the Channel fashion line in Konoha)_

_Tohru nodded._

"_Yes. I take it you know about them?"_

"_Do I?! I'm their biggest fan! They're the reason I started creating outfits"_

_She grabbed his hands and had anime tears in her eyes._

"_You're my hero now. I'm talking with a relative of the greatest fashion designers of all time. I will cherish this moment forever"_

_Tohru smiled._

"_Oh, thank you. That makes me very happy"_

_Myou seemed to glow as she held Tohru's hands._

"_So Tohru, do you make cloths as well?"_

_Tohru shook his head._

"_No, I mostly to bead work and jewelry"_

"_So that's why you had those beads with you"_

"_Yep, my aunt and uncle sell them at their store. They're probably the most expensive items there"_

_He pulled something out of his bag and pulled out a box._

"_This is my latest master piece"_

_He opened it up a revealed a pearl necklace with a diamond flower in the center._

_Myou's eyes sparkled as she looked at the necklace._

"_Kyaa! So pretty!"_

"_Thank you. I made this for my girlfriend, Shoka"_

"_Girlfriend? You have a girlfriend?" Myou said_

"_Yes? Why do you ask?"_

_They Hyuga shrugged._

"_I dunno, I just figured that since you dress like a girl that you might be into-"_

"_Myou!" Mikomi warned._

_Tohru busted out laughing._

"_On no. I may dress like a girl, but I'm not into guys" _

_He wiped the tears from his eyes._

"_I guess you could say that this is how I support feminism"_

"_Oh"_

_Tohru sighed wistfully as he thought about his girlfriend._

"_Shoka and I have been together for nearly 5 years now. She makes me feel wonderful and completes me"_

"_Does she mind you dressing up as a girl?" Mikomi asked._

"_She actually enjoys it. She says it's refreshing to see a man accept his feminine side. Although she does get jealous when I dress better than she does"_

"_Does she do any fashion related work?"_

"_No, she's a medic at the hospital"_

_He smiled softly for a moment._

"_I really envy her. She's a medical ninja and a very skilled fighter. I really look up to her"_

"_Aren't you a ninja?"_

"_Oh heavens no. I don't have a back bone in my entire body, let alone I'm a horrible fighter. But…It's always been my dream to join the Anbu Black Ops. To have the honor of receiving that tattoo on my arm would make me the happiest man alive. But Anbu is known for being skilled fighters, so I'll never get the chance to wear that uniform"_

_Mikomi looked at him thoughtfully._

"_He's got a good heart on him" __Usagi thought._

'_Yeah, I wish there was some way I could help him out'_

"_Well, your 3__rd__ seat did drop out. And we need someone who's really good at paper work"_

"_Tohru-kun!"_

_Everyone turned around to see a young woman wearing a medic's outfit walking up to them with a muscular guy with them._

_Tohru squealed when he saw them._

"_What's wrong?" Myou asked._

"_That's my girlfriend and my cousin, Boko"_

_He tried to hide himself._

"_Why are you hiding?"_

"_If she sees me with other girls, then she'll flip. She gets really jealous when it comes to other girls"_

_Shoka walked up to the table they were at and looked at her boyfriend._

_She had straight blonde hair that reached her shoulders and had brown eyes._

_Tohru's cousin, Boko, had the same hair and eye color as him, only his hair was a lot spikier._

_Shoka looked at Mikomi and Myou then at her boyfriend._

"_I see you made some friends while I was at work, huh?"_

_Tohru squirmed under his girlfriend's stare. She could be very loving, but she could be very jealous of others._

"_Is this the thanks I get for working my butt of everyday? You go out flirting with other girls while I'm trying to save lives?"_

_Tohru was sweating bullets as he looked at his girlfriend._

"_I-it's not like that Shoka. I was just talking to Mikomi –san and Myou-san and-"_

"_Oh, you know their names already? I see how it is"_

"_It's not what you think, I was just-"_

_Mikomi suddenly stood up and held her hand out to Shoka._

"_Hi, I don't think we've ever meet. I'm Mikomi Uzumaki, one of the Captains of Anbu Black Ops. I was just talking to your boyfriend here and decided to recruit him into my squad"_

_Everyone's eyes bugged out._

"_What?"_

"_Really?"_

_Mikomi smiled._

"_Absolutely. He has the skill that my squad needs dearly. We were just having an interview and he passed with flying colors"_

_Shoka looked at her boyfriend._

"_Is that true, Tohru?"_

_Tohru looked at Mikomi for a moment then gave Shoka a sheepish grin._

"_Surprise!"_

_Shoka squealed and jumped up and down._

"_Oh, Tohru! I'm so happy for you!"_

_She hugged her boyfriend tightly._

"_You're dream of joining the black ops has finally come true. I'm so proud of you"_

_She quickly turned to Mikomi and gave her an apologetic grin._

"_Sorry about how I was acting before. I just get really protective when it comes to my Tohru-kun. I just hate it when people pick on him because of his hobbies. He's such a sweetheart that I don't know what I would do without him"_

_Tohru looked touched._

"_Shoka"_

_Boko suddenly flapped his arms and barked out real loudly._

"_Butter toast!"_

_Tohru and Shoka both sweat dropped._

"_Oh, yeah. This is my cousin, Boko. He's my aunt and uncle's son. He may look tough, but he's really gentle"_

_Shoka whispered into Mikomi's ear._

"_He's not really that bright, but he's really strong. He even thinks that Tohru is actually a girl"_

_Boko grinned brightly when he saw his cousin._

"_Pretty girl!"_

_Tohru smiled gently at his cousin._

"_Hi, Boko. It's nice to see you too"_

_Shoka sighed deeply._

"_I just picked him up from the hospital. Apparently, he broke through one of the walls in your aunt and uncles studio and got hurt. Lady Yuri's medical skills sure are wonders"_

_Mikomi looked at her._

"_You know Yuri?"_

"_Of course I do. Everyone knows that she's as talented as Lady Tsunade. She's a legend. Why?"_

"_She just so happens to be my godmother"_

_Shoka's face paled._

"_You're …Godmother?"_

"_Yep"_

_She quickly grabbed her hands and bowed to her._

"_I feel so sorry for you! I know she's an amazing ninja, but she can be such a handful! I've never seen a forty year old act like a five year old. It's scary!"_

_Mikomi laughed a little._

"_At least you don't have to live with her"_

"_You have my sympathy"_

_She stood up._

"_I guess I should head back to the hospital. I just have a feeling that Lady Yuri snuck into her secret sake stash and is creating chaos"_

"_Good luck"_

_Shoka turned to Tohru and kissed him on the cheek._

"_Bye, Tohru-kun. I'll see you later so we can celebrate your big promotion"_

_She walked away with a skip in her step._

_Boko followed behind while shouting 'butter toast' as he walked._

* * *

_Tohru laughed nervously when they left._

"_Boy that was close"_

_He turned to Mikomi and Myou._

"_Were you serious about me joining your squad?"_

"_Absolutely, our 3__rd__ seat quit a few weeks ago and we need a new one"_

"_But I don't know a thing about fighting"_

"_Are you good with paper work?"_

"_Well, yes"_

_Mikomi grabbed his hand and shook it._

"_You start first thing Monday morning"_

_Tohru looked speechless._

"_I-I'm a Black Op?"_

"_Yep, and a 3__rd__ seat too" Myou added._

_Tohru got teary eyed._

"_I don't believe this. My dream finally came true"_

_He hugged them tightly._

"_Thank you so much! You've made me the happiest man alive!"_

_Mikomi patted his back._

"_That's our job. We'll take anyone in our squad as long as they're good at something"_

_Tohru looked at them for a moment._

"_Um…would you be willing to let my cousin in? He may not be smart, but he's very strong. And he's always wanted to be in the Black Ops"_

"_How strong is he?"_

"_He can break through concrete walls and bend steal"_

"_He starts Monday morning"_

_Tohru's face lit up._

"_Thank you so much! I promise you won't regret this!"_

_End Flashback_

* * *

"And that's how it happened"

Bakuto and Yugito just looked at Mikomi and Myou.

The story was interesting to say the least.

"So let me get this straight, you're first meeting started out with his calling you a big breasted beauty?" Bakuto asked.

"Pretty much, yeah"

He held the bridge of his nose.

"Figures"

Mikomi put her hands on her hips.

"Hey! He may not look like it, but Tohru is an awesome 3rd seat. We're the most organized squad in Black Ops thanks to his paper work skills. And Boko is the strongest cadet that anyone has ever had"

"Speaking of which, where is Boko? Tohru is never seen without him" Myou said.

As if on que, the giant idiot came crashing through a wall, wearing a bull mask.

"Butter Toast!"

"There he is" Yuri said happily.

Mikomi sighed as she held the bridge of her nose.

"I just know I'll have to pay for that"

She looked at Tohru to see him scolding his cousin for crashing through a wall.

"They may not look like much, but they sure are handy in our squad" Usagi said.

Mikomi had to agree with that.

Out of everyone that was in her squad; Myou, Tohru and Boko were her favorite. They treated her kindly and she did the same for them.

She couldn't see herself running her unit without them.

She smiled to herself before looking back at the match to see Shikamaru forfeit.

"See? I told you"

"_Shut up, Usagi"_

* * *

**A/N: and there you go. Like I said before, I hope you don't mind Tohru or his little 'hobby'. Please don't flame me because I have a cross dresser in this story. I just want to show that I support them and I find them adorable. **

**Please send me your review and tell me what you think.**

**JA ne**


	43. Tree leaves dancing

Chapter 43: Tree Leaves Dancing

**A/N: Hey everyone! I wanted to get another chapter in before I studied for the rest of the week with Midterms and tests. I'm so glad that you all like Tohru, I was really worried about that while I was writing about him.**

**Also, I won't be updating for a while because I'm getting Final Fantasy Xiii and once it's here, I'll be MIA for a few weeks. Just a heads up.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, Tohru and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Shikamaru lost his match; or rather, he gave up.

He put on a marvelous performance with his cunning mind. But, being his lazy self, he gave up and let Temari win.

Naruto threw a fit and was currently chewing him out.

* * *

"Well, that kid sure is smart, that's for sure" Cid said.

"But he doesn't have a back bone in his entire body" Bakuto added.

Mikomi, Yuri and Myou weren't surprised. Leave it to Shikamaru to throw you off guard like that.

"Looks like the only people left to fight are Sasuke and Garra"

That would've been cool…if Sasuke were here.

The young Uchiha was nowhere to be found. The clock was ticking and if he didn't arrive soon, then Garra would win by fault.

Naruto scanned the area.

Sasuke was still a no show and it was starting to bug him.

"_What is that idiot doing? He's still not here!"_

Just when it seemed hopeless, the unexpected happened.

* * *

A whirl-wind of leaves spun to the ground and landed next to Naruto.

Two figures appeared as the leaves disappeared.

Naruto grinned when he saw Sasuke and Kakashi standing right before him.

"Sorry we're late" Kakashi grinned innocently.

Genma merely smirked.

"You're name?"

Sasuke looked at him.

"Sasuke…Uchiha"

* * *

"Well, it looks like pretty boy made it" Barret said.

"That kid is so pampered that it makes me want to puke sometimes" Yuri stated.

Mikomi just sighed at her godmother.

"Ha ha ha! So he made it after all? Just what I would expect from my rival!"

Mikomi turned around to see Guy and Lee coming towards them.

"Hey, Guy. Hey Lee. I'm glad to see you out and moving around"

Lee flashed his trademark grin at her.

"I'm honored to have such a kind and beautiful woman such as you caring for me, Mikomi-Sensei!"

She gave him a lop sided grin.

Guy laughed full heartedly and gave Mikomi a thumbs up.

"Congrats on having Naruto winning his fight! Only your brother could beat my student! You're magnificent abilities must have rubbed off on him!"

Mikomi just laughed nervously.

"I really didn't do anything. Naruro trained all on his own. Family members weren't allowed to help out, remember"

"Then it must have been your presence that motivated him to win! I know I'm always motivated to win just by being near you!"

"_Especially when it comes to that know it all, Kakashi"_

Mikomi just give him a lop sided grin.

"I see, well, thanks for showing that you care. That makes me very happy"

Guy had anime tears in his eyes as he heard this.

He turned around and pumped his fist.

"_She says I make her happy! Ha! I'm one step above you Kakashi. Soon she'll fall for me and not you!"_

Mikomi didn't pay attention to him and just focused on the man that she was madly in love with.

* * *

Naruto glared at his teammate.

"Hey! You're late! I was wondering if you got cold feet about fighting me!"

Sasuke wasn't fazed by his teammate's hyperness.

"Heh…chill out loser" he replied.

"From that loudmouth attitude of yours…I take it you won your first battle?"

"Of course"

Sasuke smirked at that.

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Well, uh, flashy entrance not withstanding…don't tell me…Sasuke lost by forfeit?"

Genma looked amused.

"Don't worry, Sasuke's match was postponed. His match wasn't forfeited"

Kakashi grinned.

"Oh, good!"

Naruto and Sasuke both stared at Garra.

The sand ninja looked like he was ready to kill.

"Don't you dare lose to that guy!" Naruto said.

Sasuke nodded in understanding.

"Yeah"

* * *

Everyone started cheering when they saw Sasuke.

The match that they had been waiting for was about to begin.

"Garra, come down" Genma announced.

Shikamaru, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke up.

"Naruto, let's go back upstairs"

"Got it"

"And let's just take the stairs this time, Ok?"

"What!? Are you still holding it against me that I shoved you?!"

They walked out of the arena with Naruto yakking his head off while Shikamaru plugged his ears.

* * *

"This should be exciting" Yuri said as she bounced in her seat.

"I don't know, I'm sure Sasuke will win, so there's nothing exciting about this match" Cid said.

Bakuto nodded his head in agreement.

"That boy is so full of himself that he'll refuse to lose"

"Who wants to place bets?" Myou asked.

"I'm up for that Garra kid" Cid said.

"Sasuke needs to learn that he can't always win"

"I'm for Sasuke since he's my brother's teammate" Mikomi said.

Guy beamed as he held her hand.

"That is so kind of you, Mikomi! You're always thinking about others. It makes me feel grateful that I have someone like you in my life"

Mikomi looked at him nervously while she mentally tried to pull her hand away.

"_I know Guy is a nice person, but he just creeps me out sometimes"_

"Not to mention he has bad taste in fashion" Usagi said.

Guy just kept grinning until he felt a shiver go down his spine.

He looked up to see that all of the guy (minus Bakuto) were glaring at him. He could see electricity spark through Cloud's eyes as he looked at them.

He laughed nervously as he let go of Mikomi's hand.

Mikomi was relieved that Guy let her go.

She went back to what was going down below and couldn't stop the blush that covered her face.

"_Even from this far away, Kakashi still looks handsome!"_

"_Looks like someone has it bad for him" _Aerith joked.

"_I can't help it if I'm attracted to him. He's everything that I've ever wanted in a man. He's strong, smart, kind, gentle and he has such a sexy voice that I just melt by hearing it"_

"Mikomi and Kakashi, sitting in a tree" Usagi sang.

"_K-I-S-S-I-N-G" _ Aerith added.

Mikomi got mad.

"_Knock it off you 2! Hey, wait, how can you talk with each other?"_

_Being a spirit has it's advantages. I can talk to any living being, no matter where they're at"_

"Yeah. Aerith and I always talk when you're asleep. Since I'm always asleep during the day, I don't have anyone to talk to at night"

"_I keep her company while you're off dreaming about lover boy"_

Mikomi went red at that.

"_I'm done talking to you 2"_

They both laughed in her head as she drowned them out.

Her face went red again as she looked at Kakashi.

"_Naruto, you sure are one lucky son of a bitch to have Kakashi as your teacher" _She thought as she gushed over him.

* * *

**A/N: I know this isn't much, but I wanted to give you something before I vanish for a couple of days. Once I get far into my game, then I'll update again. Until then, just send me your reviews and I'll be one happy chick.**

**Ja ne**


	44. Bone Chilling

Chapter 44: Bone Chilling

**A/N: Hey everyone. I know I said I might not write for a while due to my new game, but let's just say that my eyes hurt from looking at the screen for too long, so I needed a break. Hopefully this will help me out a little before I go back to it again.**

**We're almost at the 100 mark! Yay!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Mikomi couldn't stop the chills that ran down her spine when she saw Garra. She just couldn't help but feel on edge when she looked at him.

He had the looks and movements of a killer. His aura reeked of bloodlust.

"That guy gives me the creeps" Yuffie shuddered.

Everyone couldn't deny that they felt the same way.

"Something isn't right about him" Vincent said.

"There's some demonic aura that surrounds him"

"That can't be good" Yugito said.

"Do you think Sasuke can beat him?" Tifa asked.

"I'm betting for the sand boy" Cid said.

"That pain in the ass is so full of himself"

It was obvious that Cid didn't really care for Sasuke.

Why he did was beyond everyone.

* * *

Kakashi came up to them a few minutes later.

"Hi guys" he waved innocently.

Gai jabbed a finger at his rival.

"You're late!"

Kakashi rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Heh, heh…there's nothing wrong with being fashionably late"

"You were 2 hours late, Kakashi" Mikomi stated.

"And what was with the flashy entrance? "

The scarecrow gave her a cheesy grin.

"Oh, you know me. I'll do anything to entertain you"

A light blush dusted Mikomi's face, but she ignored it.

"Flattery won't get you anywhere, Kakashi"

"Oh? Says the girl who's blushing?"

He went down to her seat and sat into the empty seat that was behind her.

He got really close to her ear.

"You know you look really cute when you blush" he whispered.

Mikomi's face just went red with embarrassment.

Tifa and the girls were gushing over Kakashi's affection for her while the guys were fuming.

Gai silently fumed behind Kakashi.

"_Curse you, Kakashi! You have swoon Mikomi with you words! How will I win her heart when you toy with her like that?!"_

No one seemed to pay any attention to him.

They just watched Sasuke struggle in his match with Garra.

* * *

Sasuke dodged another one of Garra's sand attacks. His body didn't move at all as he controlled the sand.

His last kill left him in a craze and he was thirsting for more.

They weren't getting anywhere with their attacks.

They were just toying with each other before the serious stuff happened.

* * *

Naruto sat still on the stairs with Shikimaru.

They had both watched as Garra brutally murdered two people before he went down to fight his match.

Sweat ran down the side of Naruto's face.

He suddenly remembered the last time that he saw Garra.

They were at the hospital and he stopped him from killing Lee in his sleep.

He even remembered that he said that he was a Jinchuriki like himself and his sister.

"_That guy…he's really strong….and scary" _He thought.

He took a glance at the corpses that were down the hallway.

"_From the looks of it…he must like to kill strong people. Maybe that's why he wants to fight Sasuke so badly"_

He suddenly remembered something that he said to Garra on that day at the hospital.

"_So you've got a monster inside of you too? Well so does my sister. She's strong and she can beat you down within a heartbeat"_

He remembered that creepy grin he wore when he heard that.

"_Strong huh? Then I'll have more fun when I kill her"_

His body started to treble as he realized that he not only put his teammate in danger, but also his sister.

"_Nee-chan!"_

He quickly stood up and looked at Shikamaru.

"Shikamaru! We're going up to Kakashi-sensei"

Shikamaru looked confused.

"Huh?"

The blonde started running towards the guest's seats.

"I'm gonna stop this match!"

"_And get Nee-chan out of here"_

* * *

Everyone just watched as Sasuke got creamed.

It seemed like no matter what the Uchiha did, he couldn't get through Garra's protective sand.

"Sasuke isn't looking so hot right now" Yuri said.

"He had it coming" Cid said.

"That pain in the ass needs to learn that we can't always win"

Everyone just gave him a weird look.

"What? It's true"

Kakashi just waved him off.

"Sasuke hasn't shown his true potential yet. Just give him time"

Cid just grumbled something under his breath.

"Kakashi-Sensei!"

Everyone turned around and saw Naruto and Shikamaru running up to them.

"Naruto?" Mikomi asked.

"Well, if it isn't the little champion" Barret said

Kakashi waved at his student.

"Yo. What's up?"

Naruto quickly got to the point.

"Sensei! You have to stop this match right away!"

"Huh?"

"He's completely different from us! He's not normal!"

"What are you talking about, Naruto?" Yuri asked.

He ignored his godmother.

"It they keep fighting, Sasuke will die!"

Kakashi looked at his student for a moment before he closed his eyes.

"Well…don't worry about it"

Naruto was stunned.

"What?!"

Kakashi opened his eyes again.

"There was a reason…why we were so late getting here"

* * *

Sasuke tried hitting the sand dome that Garra created a few times.

It was a pointless attempt.

He didn't even make a dent.

"_He's shut himself inside…I don't know what he's up to, but…its fine by me"_

He quickly made a stance.

'_This thing of mine…is going to take time too"_

* * *

Kakashi watched Sasuke perform his jutsu.

"What do you mean there was a reason why you were so late getting here?" Gai demanded.

"You really want to know?" he asked.

Naruto didn't like it that they weren't listening to him.

"I'm telling you, this isn't the time to be chatting!"

"Just be quiet and watch him" Kakashi said.

"There was a reason why I took Sasuke under my wing. It's because he's…very similar to me"

"Like how? You're both assholes?" Cloud mumbled.

Tifa elbowed him in the chest.

"Cloud" she said sternly.

Naruto ground his teeth in frustration. Why wouldn't his sensei listen to him? Did he not care that Sasuke could be killed?

He suddenly remembered the other reason why he came here.

He went up to his sister's seat and started to pull her out.

"Naruto? What's wrong?"

Naruto just pulled her out and started to lead her up the steps.

"You have to go Nee-Chan" he said urgently.

Mikomi grew confused.

"Huh? Why?"

Naruto looked frantic at his sister.

"That Garra guy said that he was going to kill you! You have to get away while there's still time!"

Mikomi gave her brother a skeptic look.

"I highly doubt a genin can kill. Sure, he looks really scary, but I think I can handle him"

When went to go back in her seat, but Naruto just pulled her arm again.

"He's not normal, Nee-Chan! He's just like you and me!"

Mikomi raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean by just like us?"

Naruto looked around and got closer to his sister.

"I mean…he has something inside of him too. He's just like us"

The color in her face drained as she heard that.

"I knew there was something weird about that sand kid. He's a Jinchurikii too!"

Mikomi quickly went back to their seats while holding Naruto's hand and went by Yuri's seat.

"Hey, Yuri" she said nervously.

"Yeah?"

"Do you by some chance know anything about this Garra kid?"

"Not much, why?"

Mikomi ran her free hand through her hair.

"Well, I just found out from Naruto that he has a little something sealed up inside of him"

Yuri raised an eyebrow at her.

"Huh?"

"He's a Jinchuriki!" She blurted.

Everyone whipped their heads around.

"Who's a Jinchuriki?!" Yugito cried.

"Garra is, and Sasuke is going to get himself killed!"

Bakuto held the bridge of his nose.

"How could anyone not notice this until now?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe because that kid has been hiding from everyone and the Sand is very sneaky" Yuri said.

Mikomi looked at Myou.

"Tell Tohru about the situation and have him send our troop to the arena. I'm not going to let a Jinchuriki kill my brother's teammate"

The Hyuga nodded and sprung into action.

"If Kakashi isn't going to stop this match, then I will"

She went to the stairs and went to head down to the fighting area.

She didn't even bother to watch as Sasuke performed Chidori and aimed it at Garra.

"Where are you going, Mikomi?" Gai asked.

"I'm going to stop this match"

"I told you, Sasuke can handle himself, so just watch" Kakashi said.

"Well, apparently you haven't done your homework on Sasuke's opponent, Kakashi. He really is strong enough to kill Sasuke"

"You're just over reacting. Sasuke is fine. Just relax"

Mikomi let out and angry sigh and rounded on her old teammate.

Kakashi nearly shivered when he saw how close her eyes were to turning red.

Mikomi got right up into his face.

Sure, she was madly in love with him, but he could get on her nerves sometimes.

"Listen here, Kakashi. You may be a genius, but you can be a complete idiot when it comes to studying someone's background"

"What are you talking about?"

Mikomi jabbed a finger at Garra while still looking at him.

"It just so happens that Garra is a Jinchuriki. If you had known that, I'm sure you would have disqualified Sasuke within a heartbeat"

Kakashi paled slightly.

Now he knew why Garra was so different.

Mikomi stepped away from him.

"Since you don't have the balls to save your own student. It looks like I'll have to stop this match myself and save him"

She turned around and took a step towards the fighting area.

Kakashi suddenly lost his fear over Mikomi and now feared for her life. She was strong, but she never fought with another Jinchuriki seriously before.

He hand snapped out like a snake and wrapped around her arm.

"Wait!"

Mikomi tried to tug her arm away.

"Let go. You're not being a man and saving you're student so I have to do it"

"You can't do that"

"The hell I can't. Who the hell do you think you are telling me what I can and can't do?"

"You need to stay away from him"

"Oh, now you're concerned. Well, you're a little too late since he's about to kill Sasuke. Now let me go!"

She tried to pry his fingers off her arm, but he wouldn't let go.

A high pitched scream suddenly filled the arm.

"AHHHH! BLOOD! I'M BLEEDING!!!!"

They both whipped their heads around to see that Sasuke had managed to pierce Garra's barrier and hit him as well.

The Uchiha quickly pulled his arm out of the sand, but that wasn't the only thing that came out.

Just as he pulled his arm out, an arm made out of sand came out of the barrier.

It looked animal like as it slithered back into the dome and left a hole.

Sasuke peered inside and felt himself tremble when he saw a glowing yellow eye.

The sand dissolved around Garra and went back into his gourd.

He had a murderous look in his eyes when he looked at Sasuke.

Mikomi saw the whole scene unfold and she yanked her arm away from Kakashi.

She ran down a few steps before Kakashi grabbed her by the waist and pulled her away from the two.

"Get your hands off me, Kakashi!"

"No way. I'm not letting you fight him"

Mikomi thrashed around as he continued to pull her away.

"You got a lot of nerve doing this to me" She snarled.

He pulled her back to her friends and had a hard time keeping his hold on her.

Cloud's eyes narrowed dangerously at him.

"You better take your hands off her before I do it for you"

Kakashi just ignored him and tried to bring his teammate to Yuri.

Mikomi managed to get herself free and backed away from Kakashi.

She was about to say something to her, but the strangest thing happened.

Out of nowhere, while feathers floated from the sky like a snow storm.

All of the spectators that were watching it suddenly fell asleep.

The Jonin and higher ranks knew what was going on.

"Genjutsu!" Yuri yelled.

She along with Mikomi, Kakashi and Gai quickly countered it.

"Release!"

Cloud, Tifa, Bakuto, Yugito, Vincent and Cid quickly followed the example.

Yuffie, Barret, Nanaki and Cat sith weren't so lucky and had to be woken up by Yuri.

"Is this suppose to happen?" Cid asked.

"No" Mikomi replied.

Yuri made a few handsigns and summoned up her bow and arrows.

Mikomi grabbed her guns tightly.

She wearily scanned the arena in a defensive manner.

"What the hell is going on?"

The Hokage's sky box went up with an explosion.

As if signaled, sand and sound ninja appeared out of nowhere.

The battle for Konoha had just begun.

* * *

**A/N: Dun dun dun! What a great way to end a chapter! I'm sure you know what's going to happen next? **

**Please update and tell me what you think.**

**And don't forget, we're almost at the 100 mark, my goal will be complete soon!**


	45. The Fight for the Leaf

Chapter 45: The Fight for the Leaf

**A/N: Hey everyone, we're only 2 reviews away from making it to 100. Since you're all looking forward to this chapter, I might as well be nice and post it now. Maybe this will get me over 100 reviews. **

**Hopefully this has enough action for you all.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri, and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!!!**

* * *

Kunai's clashed and bodies fell.

Blood rained the sky and smoke filled the air.

Everyone kept hacking through the enemies. When one fell down, two would pop up in its place. There seemed to be no end to them all.

* * *

Mikomi slit a sound ninja's throat before she tossed the body aside.

She was making sure that no one got to her brother's body at all.

She would've released the genjutsu that was placed on him, but the enemy wasn't letting up.

She grabbed a sand ninja and placed a paper bomb on him before throwing him into a group of sound ninja.

They all exploded on impact.

She was too satisfied with her work that she failed to notice a sand ninja behind.

He was about to strike her down, but got shot in the head.

Mikomi looked at the dead body, then at Vincent, who had Cerberus out.

She nodded her head in thanks before she ducked from a set of Kunai knives.

Tifa landed a solid punch to her opponent, causing his ribcage to break. She did a spin kick and sent him flying.

She grabbed another sound ninja and rammed him into a wall, causing it to indent.

The ninja cracked his head on impact and fell over lifelessly.

Cloud hacked through his enemies with ease.

He cut his opponents down with his hefty sword.

Sound ninjas came at him in all direction.

He swung his sword, performing his favorite jutsu.

"Kiri Kiri Mai!"

Blades of wind shot out of his sword and cut his enemies down.

He hefted his sword up on his shoulder just as Red Xlll and Cat Sith came jumping in.

The little robot clung to his furry companion as he ran through the crowd.

"Tally Ho!"

Red Xlll jumped on a sand ninja and mauled his face with his chakra enhanced fangs.

Cat Sith cheered his friend on, then screamed when another ninja popped up.

He went to ram his knife into the little cat, but Yuri was one step ahead of him.

Loading up her bow, she fired a few arrows at the ninja and impaled him into a wall/

The medic did a little victory dance as she killed off her enemy.

"You mess with the bull, you get the horns!"

Yuffie came up from behind her and unleashed her attack.

"Demon wind Shuriken!"

She threw her giant shuriken like a boomerang and had it slice her enemies before coming back to her.

She flipped through the air to grab it and landed on her feet.

Yugito was protecting Denzel and Marlene.

The children clung to her legs as they looked around in fear.

The Cloud Kunochi threw a kunai with an exploding tag tied to it at a nearby sand ninja.

"Yes!" She cheered.

Marlene saw a Sound ninja appeared behind her.

"Yugito-san! Behind you!"

Yugito turned around and saw the ninja held a Kunai above her head.

She didn't have time to defend herself and used herself as a shield to protect the kids.

"Oh no you don't!"

Bakuto appeared out of nowhere and sliced the ninja in half with his sword.

"Nobody lays a finger on my girl"

Yugito smiled at her boyfriend.

"Bakuto"

The Cloud ninja looked at his girlfriend for a moment before jumping back into the frenzy and landing next to Barret.

The Ex- AVALANCE leader obliterated anything that came in his path.

"When I'm done, there won't be a single sucker standing!"

He charged up his gun arm with charka and fired it off at a group of sound ninjas.

They all went up in an explosion and were reduced to ash.

Barret pumped his fist in victory.

"You don't mess with AVALANCE!"

Cid and Vincent were fighting back to back with each other.

The pilot jabbed his spear at a Sand ninja and threw him up in the air.

Vincent too that as the opportunity to fire a few rounds at him before the body fell to the ground in a lifeless heap.

Cid twirled his spear before stabbing another ninja.

"Nice shooting!"

Vincent didn't say anything and just continued fighting.

* * *

Mikomi, Kakashi and Gai all stood back to back.

"It's quite a crowd" Mikomi commented.

"That's not all" Gai replied.

"There's something even worse. Look over toward the roof of the central viewing tower"

They looked to see a barrier surrounding the top part.

"That's a barrier ninjustu!" Yuri cried.

"Look closely inside the barrier"

They all strained their vision to see who was inside the barrier.

They never expected to see who was with the Third Hokage.

"Orochimaru!"

They saw the infamous Sanin with Sarutobi held hostage.

Yuri's blood boiled.

"Damn you, Orochimaru!"

She fired off one of her chakra bows at the barrier, only to have it bounce off.

Mikomi ran her hand through her hair.

"Well, this just made our situation from bad to worse:

"Yeah, and the fact that the Sand is involved doesn't help out either" Yuri replied.

"No, the fact that the Sand brought their Jinchuriki with doesn't help"

Mikomi went to Yugito.

"Yugito, can you take Denzel and Marlene back to the house? There's a bomb shelter underneath the basement that is used for invasions. You'll be safe there"

She nodded.

Mikomi called for her lieutenant.

"Myou!"

They Hyuga appeared within seconds.

"Go with Yugito. You know where the bomb shelter is, so you lead the way"

Myou nodded.

"Understood"

The girls left with the children in tow and ran for safety.

Mikomi scanned the fighting area to see how Sasuke was holding up, only to find that he and Garra were gone.

"This is getting dangerous. I'm going to hide Naruto somewhere safe"

She turned around to pick up her brother, but found that he was gone as well.

"Where's Naruto?!"

"I had him and Sakura go after Sasuke" Kakashi said

"He went after Garra, so I sent him back up"

"Are you crazy?!" She screamed.

"They could get killed! You sent by brother to his death!"

"Relax, Mikomi. Naruto is a big boy now"

"No, I will not relax! My brother is chasing a Jinchuriki and he could be killed! Why would you be so stupid as to-"

Her sentence was cut short as a sand ninja came up from behind her.

"Look out!"

Kakashi pushed her down to the ground and landed on top of her.

If they weren't under attack right now, Mikomi would be blushing her head off.

But she was angry with him right now, so she roughly pushed him off.

"Screw this, I'm going after him"

"But Mikomi"

She sent him a deadly glare.

"You've caused enough trouble today, so keep your mouth shut. You better hope that Naruto is alive after this or else I'll make sure you see your dad in the next life"

Kakashi gulped slightly as Mikomi stormed away.

She grabbed Bakuto by the back of his shirt and dragged him towards a hole in the wall.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Naruto ran after the Jinchurki and I need help. You're coming with me, so deal with it"

She quickly called Nanaki to her.

"Can you track Naruto's scent?"

"Yes"

"Good, then you're coming with me"

She jumped out of the hole while still dragging Bakuto by his shirt and with Nanaki and Cat Sith fast on their heels.

Yuri watched as her goddaughter left.

"Mikomi! Come back!"

They were long gone by that time.

Yuri quickly looked at AVALANCE.

"Somebody needs to go after her! She could get killed!"

Tifa ran out of the hole and went after her best friend.

"Wait up, Mikomi!"

"I don't think Tifa alone is going to cut it" Cid said.

Cloud strapped his sword to his back.

"I'll go"

Yuri nodded,

"You go after them, we'll take care of things here"

Cloud ran after Tifa and began his pursuit to find Mikomi.

Yuri looked at the opponents before her.

Loading up her bow, she smiled wickedly.

"Now then. Let's get this party started!"

* * *

**A/N: And the chase begins. I wonder if Mikomi will make it in time? **

**If you review and help me get 100 reviews then you might find out.**

**Please tell me what you think and I'll update ASAP.**

**Ja ne**


	46. Pursuit

Chapter 46: Pursuit

**A/N: We did it! This story got 100 reviews!!!!!!!! Oh, this makes me so happy! As promised, I've updated the next installment, but it may be a while until I update for this story since I want to update my Bleach fanfics and start my Kingdom Hearts one.**

**Since we got a hundred reviews, let's try to reach for 200!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

**Enjoy!!!!!**

* * *

Trees whizzed past her as she, Nanaki, Cat Sith and Bakuto ran through the forest.

Sending chakra to her feet, she pushed off a branch and went soaring through the air.

Cat Sith held on tightly as Nanaki did the same thing.

"Hold on, lassie!"

Mikomi turned to her furry companion.

"Are we getting close?"

He sniffed the air.

"His is scent is getting stronger. They must have stopped"

"That's both good and bad" Bakuto said.

"How is it both?" Cat Sith asked.

"It's good because we can catch up to them now. It's bad because that probably means they caught up to Garra and they're about to fight him. I'm sure you can figure out the rest"

Mikomi went faster.

"I'm coming Naruto!"

* * *

Meanwhile, Naruto wasn't fairing well at all. He, Sakura and Pakkun managed to catch up with Sasuke, but things were already looking ugly.

Sand covered half of Garra's body, taking the shape of an animal.

His eyes were blood hot as he stared at his opponents.

"You're…the one…I didn't get to kill!"

He quickly recalled that time in the hospital when he told him about himself.

"_I would fight only for myself and love only myself. For as long as there are people that are out there for me to kill….then I will not cease to exist"_

Naruto quickly turned to his friends.

He knew they couldn't beat him in his current state.

"Let's run! Hurry!"

Garra jumped from his branch.

He zipped past Naruto with his claw drawn.

"Die! Sasuke Uchiha!"

Sakura stood protectively in front of Sasuke's body.

"Sakura!?"

Garra looked at her face. He saw someone else's face flash through his head.

He slammed her body into a tree. The impact caused her to black out.

The sand that shot out of his deformed arm pinned her in place.

Garra grabbed his head as it throbbed with pain.

He recalled when his uncle betrayed him and tried to kill him so he could avenge his sister's death. He remembered all of the hatred and pain he had to endure throughout his life. How his pain made who he was now.

The bloodlust in his eyes returned when he looked at Naruto.

He gulped nervously.

"_It's that look!"_

"What's the matter? I thought you were going to run away?" Garra taunted.

Naruto could hear Sakura whimper in pain.

Garra seemed to pick this up.

"Who are they to you?"

He looked at Sakura and Sasuke before answering.

"They're my friends! If you try to touch them again…I'll slaughter you!"

The sand surrounding Sakura squeezed her.

She yelped out in pain before going limp.

Naruto panicked when he saw his teammate get squeezed.

"What's the matter? I thought you were going to slaughter me?"

Naruto growled.

"Darn it!"

He lunged for him, only to get swatted away by Garra's tail.

He landed near a branch.

Sasuke looked at him from where he lay. Even in his injured state, he could tell something was off with his teammate.

"_He's not his usually self…did something…happen between them?"_

Naruto got up and quickly performed a few handsigns.

"_Even though is uses up a lot of charka…my only choice is to summon!"_

He performed the summoning Justu and summoned up a frog.

Unfortunatley, instead of getting Gamabunta, he got Gamakichi.

"What the?! You're just a brat! Ud you want my help give me some muchies of else I won't play with you!"

A tick mark appeared on Naruto's head.

"Y'know! I relly, reallt hate you frongs!"

"What?! Don't you dare mock amphibian!"

"Argh…this isn't the time or place to be playing around, Mini-wart!"

He kept cursing his bad luck.

Garra laughed wickedly.

"Friends? What a laugh"

The sand completely covered his upper body.

He looked more animal like than before.

The arm that held snapped off and reformed as a claw.

"Unless you take me down, the sand around that girl won't dissolve. In fact, it will slowing constrict, eventually smothering and crushing her!"

He crossed his arms in from of him.

"Sand Shuriken!"

He flung his arms and had shuriken aimed at Naruto.

Just as they were about to hit him, a red blur came in between them and block all of them.

Naruto gasped when he saw Mikomi, Bakuto, Nanaki and Cat Sith in front of him.

Mikomi put her sword away before flaring at Garra.

"Hey there. Welcome to hell"

Back up had arrived just in time.

* * *

**A/N: I know this is short, but I wanted to keep my promise to you all and update. Now I'll be working on my Bleach and Kingdom Hearts fanfics. Perhaps if you read one of them, then maybe I'll make an exception and post another chapter to this story, but that's only of you send a review to my Bleach fanfic. (Foxy grin) I know that sounds selfish, but I'm not getting any reviews for any of them and I need help.**

**I'll try to update as soon as possible.**

**If you want to read the Bleach fanfics, they're called.**

**Our Mysterious Play Book One: Suzaku**

**Our Mysteriosu Play Book Two: Seriyuu.**

**(If you guys are Squad 6 lovers, these are your stories!)**

**I don't have a title yet for the Kingdom Hearts one yet, but I'll let you know soon.**

**Please help me, you guys are my only hope!!!!**

**Ja ne**


	47. Rescue and fights

Chapter 47: Rescue and Fights

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back from working on my other stories! I hope you're all ready for some action because this chapter has a lot of it! (Or at least I hope so)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and USagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat. **

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"**Taimat Talking"**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Mikomi quickly studied everyone.

Sasuke was on the ground with his curse mark activated.

Sakura was pinned to a tree and was out cold.

And Naruto was trembling with Pakkun and Gamakichi next to him

Cat Sith's ears went back.

"Looks like we caught ourselves in a jam"

* * *

Mikomi turned around and squatted in front of her brother.

She could tell right off the bat that he was scared out of his mind.

"Hey, Naruto. You ok?"

He quickly latched himself to his sister.

"Nee-chan!"

She rubbed his back.

"What happened here?" Bakuto asked.

Pakkun decided to be the informer.

"Well, as you can see, we're all getting creamed by Garra and we're pretty much up shit creek"

Mikomi sweat dropped at his analogy.

Naruto pulled away from his sister.

"Nee-chan, Sakura's in trouble!"

"I can see that. You go hide while I take care of this, ok?"

"But Sakura!"

"I'll take care of her when I'm done with this Garra fellow"

She turned her attention to Bakuto.

"Can I trust you to take care of Naruto for me?"

He just looked at her for a moment.

"Why should I babysit your brother?"

"Because I took Yugito somewhere safe so she wouldn't get caught up in this mess and you owe me. Besides, Naruto is just as precious to me as Yugito is to you. I would protect her if you asked me to, so just help me out this once"

Bakuto sighed.

"You owe me for this"

She gave him a grateful smile.

"Thank you"

She turned to Red Xlll and Cat Sith.

"Can you watch over Sasuke and Sakura?"

They nodded.

"Good. I'm going to take care of things here then"

She got closer to Garra and got into a defensive stance.

* * *

Garra had been silently watching these newcomers.

They had interrupted his fun and now they were going to pay.

But when he saw Mikomi, he face broke into a creepy grin.

"_On second thought. Maybe it was good that she interrupted my fun. Now I can play with her a little"_

Mikomi studied Garra's features.

"_There's that creepy grin of his"_

"Be careful with him, his Jinchuriki is known to be a trickster. He plays with is prey before killing them"

"_I'll keep that in mind"_

She pulled out her sword and held it out.

"I take it by the look on your face that you remember me?"

Garra laughed wickedly.

"Of course. You're that one girl I ran into a couple of times. I also take it that you're Naruto Uzumaki's older sister?"

"That would be true"

Garra's grin spread wider.

"Excellent. Then that means you're just like me. You have something locked up inside of you too. This should be fun "

Chills ran down her spine as she saw that grin.

"I've been wondering. Why do you always have that look on your face whenever you see me?"

Garra laughed evilly.

"It's because whenever I see you, I always wonder what it would feel like if I killed such a pretty girl like you. I haven't really killed a lot of females so I don't really know the enjoyment"

She suppressed the urge to shiver.

"_This guy is nuts. He's like a serial killer"_

Garra held out his clawed hand to her.

"Why don't you amuse me and play with me for a little bit?"

Mikomi put her sword away.

She figured it would be useless against him since he used his sand as armor.

They both stared at each other.

No one moved.

No one uttered a sound.

Bothe of them silently analyzed their opponent, waiting for the other to make the first move.

* * *

Garra grew reckless and broke eye contact.

"Wind style! Infinite Sand Devastation!"

Mikomi dodged the attack and jumped into the air.

"Lightning Style! Electric Whip!

She created her lighting whip and snapped it a few times.

Garra laughed evilly.

"What can you do with a mere whip?"

Mikomi smirked.

"This"

She lunged forward and wrapped it around his arm.

"Current Shock!"

Electricity from her whip ran through him like a current and zapped him repeatedly.

The san around his arm exploded and caused parts of it to fall from his body.

Garra growled.

"_She managed to break part of my sand armor? There's more to this girl than meets the eye"_

Mikomi jumped back when he reformed his arm.

"That was impressive" Garra said.

"But now it's my turn"

He swung his arms in every direction.

"Sand Shuriken Tsunami!"

Shurikens flew towards her in every direction.

"You have got to be kidding me"

She jumped up and zapped them with her whip, causing them to turn back into sand.

She landed on a tree branch and faced Garra.

"Is that all you can do? Just throw little itty bitty weapons out of sand? You have to do a lot better than that if you want to beat me"

Garra raised an eyebrow at her.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah. You may be a Jinchuriki, but you really suck when it comes to using your inner power"

Bakuto sweat dropped.

"Why don't you egg him on some more, stupid fox? I'm sure he enjoys it"

Mikomi just ignored him.

"Well? Show me what you've got Raccoon boy"

Garra laughed.

"Fine then, have it your way"

He swung his arms to perform his Sand Shuriken attack.

"You're using that attack again? Give me a break"

Garra just grinned and launched his attack, but not at her.

The shurikens zipped passed her and headed for the others.

"_Crap! He's just toying with me!"_

She flashed stepped in front of them and blocked all of the attacks with her body.

Blood dripped from her arms and other various cuts on her body.

Some of the shuriken were stuck in her body, but she didn't care.

She turned around to make sure everyone was alright.

"I told you not to egg him on" Bakuto said.

"First rule when fighting a Jinchuriki: Never toy with them. They'll just throw something back at you"

Mikomi's eye twitched.

"I'm aware of that now, you damn dragon"

"_I should have let him get hit by these things"_

Naruto looked at his sister.

"Nee-chan"

She gave her brother a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, I got this under control"

"Doesn't look like it" Bakuto said

"Zip it!"

Garra laughed.

"What's the hold up, Mikomi Uzumaki? I'm not done playing with you!"

Mikomi just growled under her breath as she pulled the shurikens out of her body.

"Are you alright, Mikomi?" Cat Sith asked.

"I'm fine. A few cuts won't slow me down"

"Don't let your guard down, he has a lot of energy stored up inside of him" Nanaki said.

"I'll be careful"

"Don't get yourself killed now" Bakuto said.

"I won't, so don't worry"

"I'm not worried about you; I just don't want to carry your carcass back to the village"

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's forehead.

"Why you"

Garra slammed his arm into a tree in frustration.

"Don't make me wait any longer, Mikomi Uzumaki!"

Mikomi grew annoyed.

"Shut your trap, will ya!"

She cracked her knuckles as she prepared her next move.

"_Looks like I'll have to use Yellow Flash on this sucker" _

She went up to Garra, but made sure she was far from him as well.

"I'm here, now will you shut up? You're giving me a headache with all of that yelling of yours"

Garra grinned at her.

A tiny bit of drool came out of his mouth to show how crazy he was at this point.

"For god's sake, act like a normal person. I know you're a Jincuriki, but you don't have to act like an animal"

Garra laughed at her.

"You sure have a lot of guts talking to me that way. But you're all bark and no bite"

"You wanna prove that?"

"I don't need any proof, I just know it"

Mikomi crouched down to prepare her attack.

"Well think again buddy. I have a whole lot of bite in store"

She flashed stepped out of his line of vision and startled Garra.

"_She's fast. Where did she go?"_

His answer was a kick to the face.

Mikomi didn't do much damage since the sand was protecting him, but she managed to catch him off guard.

"Let's see your try to catch up, carrot top!"

She zipped around him and landed a few hits on him.

Garra tried to catch her, but she would zip out of his grip.

Garra growled in frustration.

"Aww, what's the matter, Garra? You can't catch me? Oh Boo Hoo" Mikomi said to him in a baby voice.

"She's really asking for it" Cat Sith said.

"Yep, and I have a feeling that I'll have to save her" Bakuto muttered.

Mikomi kept flash stepping around Garra and taunt him by jumping out of his reach.

"You can't catch me!" She said in a sing song voice.

Garra finally had it and unleashed one of his deadliest attacks.

"That's it!"

Sand shot out of him and managed to catch Mikomi's foot.

She slammed face first into a branch.

The sand slithered around her ankle as if it was a snake.

Mikomi tried to pull her leg out of it, but it was no use.

Garra grinned evilly as he watched her struggle.

"Nee-chan!" Naruto cried.

"That idiot" Bakuto said.

The sand grew tighter around Mikomi's leg.

"Sand Burial!"

Just as the sand crushed around her leg, a black blur zipped by and pulled her away before any damage could be done.

"What?!!"

Garra searched the area for his toy.

"Come out, come out, Mikomi Uzumak!" He called.

"I want to play with you some more before I kill you!"

He slammed his claw into some tree, causing them to fall over.

"Where are you?!"

* * *

A little ways off, Mikomi hid behind a large tree.

She had her back against the trunk as she tried to regain her breath.

Bakuto stood next to her and scanned the area.

He had managed to pull her out of the sand before it crushed her leg to powder.

She slid down on the branch and sat.

"That was close" She said.

"Too close" Bakuto added.

She looked up at him dully.

"_I'm glad he saved me, otherwise I would have lost a leg"_

"Thanks for the rescue, Bakuto"

He just looked at her for a moment before scanning the area for Garra.

"That's just one more thing you owe me" He said.

He looked back at her.

"How's your leg?"

She still had her leg intact, but that didn't mean she got away uninjured.

Blood dripped from her leg and pooled around her foot.

She flinched when she tried to move it.

"It hurts when I move it, but it's better than having it crushed"

"True"

They could hear Garra shouting at her from a far.

"This guy is nuts, he's totally insane" Mikomi said.

"He's a Jinchuriki, what did you expect?" Bakuto asked.

"I didn't think the brat had that much power in him. I thought I could fight him easily like I did when I fought with you"

"I wasn't taking you seriously that time" Bakuto said.

"There's no way you can beat a Jinchuriki without using your Bijuu's power"

"I don't want to use Usagi's power. I'm just risking myself into breaking my seal completely"

"That's your lose then"

She winched when she stood up.

She leaned against the tree for support.

"This guy is too strong" She said.

"I don't know if I can beat him, let alone fight him"

Bakuto mulled over this scenario.

He could fight the kid easily, but he would have to use Taimat's powers in order to do it.

"_Hey Taimat, you up for a little spar with a Jinchuriki?"_

"**Hell no! That kid holds Shukaku's spirit! I'm not fighting that nut job, he's insane! He'll kill me in an instant!"**

He twitched at his inner demons response.

"_Don't be such a chicken, Taimat"_

"**I'm not a chicken! There are some battles that you can win and some that you can lose to and this is one of the losing ones. My best suggestion is to get the hell out of here while you still can. When that kid reverts into Shukaku fully, then you're in deep shit"**

He slammed his fist against the tree in frustration.

Since Taimat wasn't going to help him, then he had to take matters into his own hands.

"_I have an idea, but we need to be fast for it ,really fast"_

He turned to Mikomi to see her grab her leg.

"_I wonder if she'll be up to the task"_

"Hey, stupid fox"

She gave him a weary glare.

"What?"

"Can you still perform that flash step of yours? I have an idea"

She tested her leg.

It hurt like hell, but it shouldn't cause her any problem.

"I guess, I won't be as fast as before, why?"

Bakuto pulled out a sealed box from his coat.

" I have an idea, but we need to move really fast if we want to avoid Garra's attacks.

Mikomi leaned against the tree and watched him unseal the box.

She figured he was carrying some type of explosive, but all that was inside the box was a set of Kunai Knives.

"How are a couple of messily knives going to help us?"

Bakuto just gave a lop sided grin.

"These aren't ordinary Kunai. These were specially made by my teammate, Zang"

"Ok. And these will help us how?"

"You just have to watch. But be ready to run, because once I throw these things, we'll reveal our location"

She nodded and performed Yellow Flash for standby.

* * *

Bakuto peered around the tree to see how close Garra was.

Trees could be seen falling over as the Jinchuriki kept crashing them down.

"_He's not close enough where he can see us, but at least he's near enough for these to work"_

He pulled out a kunai and aimed to throw it.

"When I say go, you take us as far from here as fast as you can"

She nodded and grabbed the back of his shirt to prepare to run.

Bakuto waited until he saw some nearby trees falling over.

He threw the kunai in that direction.

"Go!"

Mikomi didn't hesitate and high tailed it out from their spot.

She wondered what the Kunai would do, but got her answer moments later.

A huge explosion erupted and caused the nearby trees to burst into ashes.

She yelped in surprise by how much damage that little knife could do.

"_What the hell?! It didn't even have an exploding tag on it!"_

She skidded to the nearest hiding spot and nearly fell off the branch due to her bad leg.

Bakuto grabbed her by the back of her shirt and steadied her.

She rounded on him and looked like he was insane.

"What the hell was that?! What did you just do?! Naruto is near there! You could have killed him!"

Bakuto just smirked at her.

"My teammate, Zang is an expert when it comes to explosions. Those Kunai Knives are hollowed out inside and are filled with explosives that ignite on impact. And relax; I had Cat Sith use a shield Materia before I went to rescue you just in case Garra tried to attack them

Mikomi just stared at him with her mouth opened.

She was relieved that her brother was safe, but she was slightly terrified by those Kunai.

She had never seen like them before and she had a bad feeling about them.

She also suddenly remembered something that made her skin crawl.

Yuri!

If there was one thing the medic loved more than tormenting everyone, it was explosives.

She would watch the opening scene of Tropic Thunder over and over again just to see the explosives.

She gripped Bakuto's arms .

"Listen to me, Bakuto! If Yuri gets her hands on these things , then hell will break lose. You know how she loves explosives!"

Bakuto's face paled.

He knew all too well that Yuri loved things that went 'boom'.

Yuffie was no different either.

He looked at the box in his hands, then at Mikomi.

"As soon as we got out of here, I'll seal these up somewhere where she can't find them"

Mikomi liked that idea.

"But for now, let's just focus on getting Garra"

They kept doing their joint attack for a minute until Mikomi collapsed on a branch.

"It's no good. My leg won't hold up on me anymore"

That wasn't good. Not only would they have trouble trying to get away, but Bakuto ran out of his Kuani Knives.

They could hear Garra coming closer to them.

"I know you're around here, Mikomi Uzumaki! Stop hiding and come out!"

Mikomi sank to the ground.

"This is bad. I can't hold him out much longer"

Bakuto agreed.

"We have to get back to Naruto and the group without him noticing"

Mikomi stumbled to her feet.

Her leg shook as she put weight on it.

Bakuto noticed this.

"_From the looks of it, she's about to pass out from pain. If was able to do that little trick of hers, then I would have been able to get everyone to safety"_

Mikomi leaned against the tree trunk to support herself.

As Garra grew closer, Bakuto became more desperate.

They needed to get away from here fast, but with Mikomi injured, that wasn't going to happen.

Swallowing his pride and hatred for the girl next to him, he went over and grabbed her arm.

"What are you doing?" Mikomi asked.

"I'll give you a piggy back ride to the others. You're in no condition to be moving right now"

"I'll be fine. I'm tougher than I look, you don't have to worry about me"

Bakuto's eye twitched.

"_I try to be nice to her since she's Yugito's best friend and she has to act stubborn now of all times. This is one of the reasons why I hate her!"_

Just as he was about to say something, Garra's claw shot out of nowhere.

His claw hit Mikomi in the face and had blood running down the side of her.

Bakuto didn't get hurt as badly as she did, but he got a few scratches.

Garra grinned evilly when he spotted her and Bakuto.

"Found you!"

He wrapped his claw around his neck and had sand come out of it to wrap around Bakuto's neck.

He yanked them back to the others and had them dangling in midair.

Garra laughed wickedly as he saw them struggle.

"I finally caught you and I even got a new toy as well"

Naruto panicked as he saw his sister thrash out.

"Nee-chan!"

Cat Sith jumped all over the place.

"Oh no! What do we do?! What do we do?!"

No one knew what to do.

They just helplessly watched as Mikomi and Bakuto started to suffocate.

* * *

Garra's sand slowly started to crush their windpipes.

Mikomi tried clawing away at the sand, but it was no use.

"_Not good…can't breathe!"_

Bakuto was pretty much the same as she was and clawing his way out with chakra coated hands.

"I wonder how fast I can snap that pretty neck of yours?" Garra asked.

"Perhaps I'll bet my record and do it under a second"

Mikomi thrashed out at him, but her kept her at arm's length.

"Even though it was short, I had fun playing with you"

She stopped thrashing around and dangled limply.

Her vision was starting to go hazy from the lack of oxygen.

"_I don't have enough strength left" _She thought.

"_I need air soon"_

"Now die! Mikomi Uzumaki!"

He went to perform sand burial on them, but was stopped when Cloud's sword went through his arm.

He screamed in pain before releasing his prey.

The sand dissolved around their neck and went back to his arm.

Tifa picked them up and brought them back to the others.

Mikomi gasped for air as her wind pipes were released.

Her neck started bruising from the pressure of the sand.

Bakuto was on his hands and knees as he caught his breath.

Tifa pounded Mikomi's back out when she started coughing.

"Are you guys ok?"

"Yeah" Mikomi said in a raspy voice.

Bakuto just nodded as he tried to regain his breath.

Cloud stood in front of them and acted like a shield.

Naruto wrapped his arms around his legs in a tight hug.

"Thank god you're here, Ni-san!" He cried.

"I thought I was going to lose Nee-chan!"

Mikomi had to agree with that.

"Thanks for saving us, Cloud"

"Yeah, we would have been done for if you didn't show up" Bakuto added.

Cloud gave Mikomi a stern glare.

"Don't you ever run off like that again, young lady. You hear me?"

Mikomi painfully nodded her head.

"_Great, I'm being lectured by Cloud as if he was my dad"_

"_You must have really rubbed off on him then" _Aerith said.

Mikomi sighed as Tifa rubbed her back.

* * *

Garra laughed with glee as he saw their new guests.

"Wonderful! I have new toys to play with!"

Cloud went to step forward, but Naruto stopped him.

He looked at the young blonde to see him pleading.

He was tired of having everyone fight his battles for him. Garra was his opponent, so he had to face him.

"I'll go fight him. Please just save Sakura, Sasuke and Nee-chan"

He pointed toward where Sakura was pinned.

Cloud contemplated about this.

HE really didn't think it was a good idea to let a 13 year old fight someone like Garra.

His instincts told him to say no, but the look in the boy's eyes told him that maybe he did have what it took.

"If this drags out too long, then I'm jumping in"

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"Don't worry. I'll finish this quickly"

He jumped forward and let Cloud take care of his sister.

Garra grinned wickedly.

"Decided to fight me, have you, Naruto Uzumaki?"

He gulped nervously.

He stood tall and looked Garra straight in the eye.

He was going to protect his friends and family, no matter what.

* * *

**A/N: And there you go. I hope this chapter was up to your expectations. I hope there was enough action for you. **

**Remember to send in your reviews if you want another update.**

**Ja ne**


	48. Those who are strong

Chapter 48: Those who are strong

**A/N: Hey everyone! Here's the next chapter to the story. Sorry if I freaked you all out with my little April Fool's joke, so here's to make it up.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Naruto continued to stare down Garra.

He didn't want to show that he was terrified of him, but after what he did to his sister, he simply couldn't let this pass.

As he looked closer at him, he found something he didn't see before.

The look in his eyes seemed to remind him of someone.

"_He's got such lonely eyes" _he thought.

"_Very lonely eyes"_

He understood what it felt like to be hated by his village. He understood it all too well.

He grew up not understanding why everyone treated him so badly.

He grew up with no one to support him and his sister.

"_Ever since I found out that I had the nine tailed fox inside of me, everyone's eyes seemed more callous. It was so painful"_

He bit his bottom lip.

It was painful, but as he grew up, he met people who loved him for who he was and wanted to be with him.

Yuri_:_

"_Naruto! Did you know that you're my most favorite godson?"_

"_But I'm you're only godson"_

"_That's why you're my favorite! I get to love you and hug you more than ever!"_

Iruka-sensei_:_

"_Naruto, it's been a while, want to go eat ramen?"_

"_Yay! Hey! Hey! I want extra pork today!"_

Sasuke_:_

"_You idiot. If you want to win against me, train harder"_

"_Shut up! I won't lose to you!"_

Sakura_:_

"_Hey, Naruto. What did Sasuke say about me?"_

"_He didn't say anything. But hey! Don't you want to know what I think about you?"_

Kakashi-sensei:

"_Naruto, if you keep eating just ramen and red bean soup, you really will die. If you're going to be a good ninja, you need to eat vegetables"_

"_Wha? But I hate veggie!"_

Tifa:

"_Don't be too reckless on your next mission, Naruto. I don't want to see you in a body cast again"_

"_Don't worry! I'm made of steel! Believe it!"_

Yuffie:

"_Hey Naruto! Let's go pull a prank on Cid and make him crazy!"_

"_Yeah! I think it's hilarious when he explodes like that"_

Barret:

"_You better keep an eye on Marlene for me when I'm not around, you hear?"_

"_No Problem! She's safer with nobody but me!"_

Cid:

"_Hey Naruto. You want to hear the time that I went into space?"_

"_Yeah! Nee-chan said that you flew into a rocket! That's so cool!"_

Vincent:

"_Hey! Hey! Vinnie! When will you teach me how to use a gun like you and Nee-chan?"_

"_The day that I teach you and your sister to use a gun properly will be the day that pigs fly"_

Red Xlll:

"_If you're going to become Hokage, then you'll need to know the ways of life. That's why I'll tutor you about everything there is to know"_

"_Aww! But I hate studying!"_

Cat Sith:

"_Being small has its advantages, y'know. You're able to get into tight places and pass though crowds easily"_

"_Yeah, but it sucks when you're the shortest person on your team"_

Yugito:

"_Aww, you are so cute, Naruto. I wish I had a little brother like you. Mikomi is so lucky"_

"_Heh heh! I am the cutest guy in the village, so it's no surprise"_

Bakuto:

"_It's hard to believe that someone like you is related to that stupid fox. I feel sorry for you"_

"_What wrong with that? Nee-chan is lucky to have someone like me as a brother!"_

Ni-san:

"_Hey, Ni-san! Will you teach me that move where you split your sword up into smaller pieces?"_

"_You can't even lift up my buster sword"_

"_But if I did, would you teach me?"_

"_We'll see"_

Nee-chan:

"_I'm so glad that you were born, Naruto. I can go on smiling everyday because my little brother is here"_

"_Nee-chan, does that mean I was born to meet you?"_

"_If that's true, then it would make me very happy"_

* * *

Naruto looked at the ground.

"_I started meeting people who would acknowledge me…so…even though I had a fox demon inside of me and people looked coldly at me, I got used to it. Because…I wasn't alone anymore! I never imagined it would be so joyful and happy…I'm so…grateful, deeply grateful. It's ok for me to be alive-to exist"_

He watched as Garra propped himself on a branch.

"_I don' t know what actually happened to him, but…I know he's been alone this whole time, continuing to suffer…without any relief, he still…can only trust himself…he's still fighting inside the dark…can I really win against him?"_

The sand surrounding Sakura grew tighter.

Even in her current state, she still cried out in pain.

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration.

"What's the matter…are you scared of me?" Garra taunted him.

"Whether you fight for yourself…or for others…you should only love yourself! Only fight for yourself! That's the definition of the strongest one!"

Naruto didn't know what to say to that.

He had second thoughts already about winning against him.

"Don't listen to him, Naruto!" Mikomi shouted.

"Fighting for yourself doesn't make you stronger, it makes you weaker!"

She struggled to stand up, her injured leg kept shaking as she put weight on it.

"You came here so you could protect your friends, right? Well, show him what happens when he messes with your teammates!"

Naruto grew motivated by his sister's words.

"_She's right. I'm not going to let him get away with hurting my friends!"_

He quickly launched his attack.

"Multiple Shadow Clones!"

Garra breathed deeply.

"Infinite Sand Devastation!"

He blew away all of his clones and smashed him into a tree.

Naruto cursed his own luck.

Garra kept throwing his attacks and got him every time.

"I'm going to play with you without letting you die. I want to see how long it takes you to give up on your friends and try to run away"

Naruto struggled to his feet.

"_Damn it!" _He thought.

"_What's…this feeling welling up?"_

He felt his blood boil as he looked at Garra.

"_For whatever reason…just…just against this guy…I don't want to lose to him even if I end up dying!"_

Naruto's posture changed completely.

He wasn't scared or uncertain anymore.

He was angry and determined.

He wasn't going to let Garra beat him, even if it killed him.

Garra could sense the change in him as well and he didn't like it.

"What's the matter? You're the one who hunted me down. Scared? You can't even come close to touching me…what a joke!"

Naruto didn't pay any attention to his words.

He simply thought of his next plans.

Pulling out a paper bomb, he wrapped it around one of his kunai knives.

"_I don't know how far I can go or how much I can do, but…I'm gonna give it everything I've got!"_

He brought up a dozen shadow clones and launched his attack.

Using his clones, he flung himself through the trees to get to Garra.

He flipped through the air and landed behind him.

"Take this! Kakashi-sensei's specialty…Konohagakure's most sacred technique-one thousand years of death!"

He rammed the knife up his back end.

Everyone just sweat dropped and looked disgusted.

"Sacred technique my ass!" Mikomi shouted.

"Of course it had to be from that sick, perverted scarecrow" Cloud said with disgust.

His hatered level going up a notch.

Tifa didn't say anything.

"That was wrong on so many levels" Bakuto said.

Garra swatted Naruto away like a fly.

He didn't understand why he pulled that stunt or why he was smiling.

He got his answer when his back side exploded.

Mikomi flinched when she realized what her brother did.

"Ouch!"

"Idiot" Cloud muttered.

Naruto went flying, but Sasuke managed to catch him in his current state.

"What a brilliant move" Red Xlll said.

"Ad even in his current state, Sasuke managed to catch Naruto"

"Yeah, but did he kill Garra?" Gamakichi squeaked.

"I don't think he could have killed him with that move" Tifa said.

Mikomi agreed.

"He just injured him, that's all"

For some odd reason, Gamakichi finally noticed Mikomi.

"It that you, Mikomi-chan? I hardly recognized you"

Mikomi sweat dropped at the frog's stupidity.

"You finally realized that I was here?"

"I've been hiding this whole time" the frog retorted.

He had hearts in his eyes when he got a good view of her chest.

"Woo Hoo! You sure shaped out nicely! I can't wait to stick my face in that heavenly valley of your!"

Red Xlll growled at him when he tried to get closer.

Cat Sith jumped off his back and started attacking him,

"You mongrel! That's no way to talk to a lady!"

Pakkun joined the fight.

"You stupid frog! Don't be making hits on my master!"

The three animals just continued fighting.

Mikomi sighed deeply.

"Fuck my life" she mumbled.

She shook it off and went over to Sakura.

She had a slight limp in her step, but she didn't mind. She had to save Sakura.

She tried pulling her body out, but the sand wouldn't let her budge.

She threw a few punches to see if she could crack the shell, but she didn't even leave a dent.

In her own frustration, she kicked the sand with her injured leg.

She yelped in pain and grabbed her leg.

"Mother Fucker! Shit! Shit! Shit!"

Tifa pulled out a cure material and healed her leg up.

"What are you doing, Mikomi?"

She went back to freeing Sakura.

"I'm trying to rescue Sakura. What does it look like I'm doing?"

"You being an idiot" Bakuto said.

She didn't pay attention to him.

She pulled put her sword and used it as a wedge.

She managed to pull Sakura out a little, but it wasn't enough.

Cloud caught on what she was doing and pitched in.

He separated his sword into smaller parts and wedged them into the sand.

The hole got bigger and Tifa was able to pull Sakura out.

Cloud and Mikomi put their swords away and watched as Naruto continued to fight Garra.

"It looks like Naruto has the upper hand"

Just then Shukaku appeared.

"Or not"

The one tailed raccoon towered over the vast forest. Trees crushed within its path.

Cat Sith hid behind Tifa.

"Goodness me! That thing's huge!" he cried.

"How on earth are we going to fight it?!"

They didn't have any bright ideas, but Naruto saved them the trouble.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Gamabunta towered over the forest.

Both creatures stood out in their location.

Naruto stood proudly on top of the chief toad's head.

"_The training's finally paying off! This will be a breeze!"_

Bunta looked at the person who summoned him.

"What the?-you again? What is it this time?!"

He spotted Shukaku a little ways off.

"Well if it isn't Shukaku the sand spirit"

Naruto quickly got to the heart of the matter.

"Hey Chief toad! Fight with me, please? I'm really counting on ya!"

Bunta blew smoke from his pipe.

"Take a hike kid"

Naruto dead panned.

"What?!"

He stomped his foot on the toad's head.

"What do you mean! I thought you said you were gonna make me your henchman! And a boss helps his henchman when they're in trouble, right?! That's called honor bound duty!"

"Indeed, I did say I would make you my henchman…but I haven't even exchanged Sake cups with you yet, and why should I go out of my way to fight that creature? How idiotic"

"You've got to be kidding me! I'm still a kid! I can't drink!"

"_That didn't stop your sister" _the toad thought.

Gamakichi decided to spare him from further humiliation and helped him out.

"Don't be so stubborn and help the kid, will ya? After all, he protected me"

"And just what do you think you're doing here, Gamakichi?"

"I had nothing better to do, so I came out to have some fun. But him over there, he tried to bully me!"

"What?!"

This changed Bunta's mind completely.

"Kid…I'll acknowledge you as my henchman! And I'll show plenty of honor bound duty!"

He pulled out his sword that was strapped to his side.

"I'm gonna settle this score… you lackey!"

He charged at Shukaku at full speed.

Naruto and Gamakichi had to tight or else they would have fallen off.

Bunta rammed his sword in Shukaku's arm and sent it flying off his body.

His sword slipped from his hands from the force of the cut.

"_What a tough fellow…he's so solid I barely managed to pull out the slash!"_

Both the arm and sword crashed to the ground, causing the landscape to shake from impact.

Everyone who was watching had to grab something to prevent them from falling.

Bunta looked at all of the fallen trees around them.

"_If I don't get rid of him quickly, the whole landscape's going to change"_

Naruto started to panic when he saw how close they were to his friends.

"Hey, Chief! Nee-chan is over in that direction, so we can't go that way! Can you lure him over here?"

"Mikomi's here, eh? Well, we wouldn't want her to get squashed, now would we?"

* * *

While all of this was going on, Mikomi checked on everyone.

"Is everyone alright?"

They all nodded.

She looked back at Bunta and Shukaku.

She could tell that something was happening with the sand spirit by the way his chakra was changing.

'_I don't like this"_

"Shukaku is a very dangerous demon, even I would have a hard time fighting him" Usagi admitted.

Mikomi silently prayed that Naruto would be alright.

"_If I wasn't injured, I would be fighting this creep"_

Tifa rubbed her shoulder.

"Don't worry, Naruto is strong. We just have to have faith in him"

She nodded at her friends words and just watched her brother.

Shukaku suddenly took in a deep breath.

"Wind style: air bullets!"

Bunta jumped in time as the balls of air came flying towards him.

"Water style: Liquid bullets!"

The two bullets clashed with each other and caused a mini hurricane to form.

Mikomi got soaked as the rain pelted down.

Cat Sith hid under Red Xlll since he couldn't get wet.

Everyone's clothes were wet after the attack.

Cloud's normally spiky hair was pressed to his head.

Sasuke was awe-struck as he watched his friend fight.

He never realized he held such power.

He felt himself growing weak from his curse mark.

It was taking its toll on him and he didn't know how long he would last.

Mikomi had him rest against her body.

"Rest up, Sasuke. You need it"

He felt himself blush at the being so close to her.

He wouldn't admit it that she was one of the few people that he actually liked, even if she annoyed the hell out of him at times.

Bunta and Shukaku kept fighting.

No one seemed to be winning or losing, they were equally matched.

"If they keep fighting, the landscape is going to change" Red Xlll said.

They got soaked again from another air/water bullet attack.

"And if they keep using that attack, then I'm going to need a new outfit" Mikomi said.

Cloud pulled out a shield materia and used it on them.

"There, now we won't get wet anymore"

Bunta stopped using liquid bullets for a moment and seemed to talk to Naruto.

It was hard to hear what they were talking about, but it seemed like they were planning something out.

Banta ran for Shukaku and launched his next move.

"Transformation Jutsu!"

Smoked filled the air.

Through the smoke, they could see a claw shoot out.

A nine tailed fox version of Bunta roared with fury/

Sasuke, Pakkun and Mikomi froze at the scene.

"That's-" Sasuke choked.

Cloud, Tifa, Bakuto and the others didn't know what it was, but from the looks on everyone else's faces, they had a pretty good idea as to what it was.

Mikomi's mind seemed to shut down.

Vivid images flashed through her eyes as she recalled the day when hell broke loose in the village.

She could still remember the fear she felt that day when she first saw the nine tailed fox.

She remembered when she lost everything she loved.

* * *

_Flashback: 13 years ago._

_Mikomi kneeled by her father's lifeless body._

_The Kyunii and Usagi were sealed away and now slept within her and Naruto._

_Her body felt like it was on fire, but it didn't matter, she just wanted her dad to wake up._

"_Daddy! Wake up!" she started shaking his body._

"_You have to wake up! Don't you want to see mommy?"_

_His head lolled to the side._

_Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth._

_She ripped the end of her shirt and used it to wipe the blood away._

_Naruto wailed loudly through the night. _

_The seal stood out from his pale skin._

_Mikomi held him close to her chest and rocked him back and forth._

"_Naruto needs you daddy. Don't sleep on us"_

_Jiraiya kneeled next to her._

_Mikomi looked at him with tears in her eyes._

"_Jiraiya! Daddy won't wake up, please help me wake him up:_

_Jiraiya held such a sad expression on his face._

_He placed his large hand on her shoulder._

"_Mikomi…he's gone" he said softly._

_Mikomi just shook her head frantically._

_She wouldn't believe that her father was dead._

"_No! He's just tired from using too much chakra!"_

"_Honey, he's not going to wake up"_

"_He will! You'll see!"_

_She continued shaking him, but he wouldn't move. _

_She started to realize that he really wasn't going to wake up._

"_No!" she sobbed._

"_No Daddy, don't leave me!"_

_Jiraiya carefully picked her and Naruto up._

_She reached out towards her father's body as they walked away._

"_Daddy!"_

_She cried hard as she realized that she would never see her father again_

_End flashback_

* * *

Mikomi let out a scream as she back away from the battle as far as possible.

Her back his the truck of the tree they were sitting on and shook like a leaf.

Pakkun knew his master was in freak out mode from seeing the jutsu.

"_She's still terrified of the nine tailed fox up to this day"_

Mikomi closed her eyes tightly and grabbed her head.

She shook her head violently as she tried to get rid of the images of that day.

Tears slipped down her face as she freaked out some more.

Pakkun tried to calm her down, but it wasn't working.

"Calm down, Mikomi. It's just an illusion. It's not the real fox"

His words fell on deaf ears as she shook.

Tifa hugged her tightly and held her face into her chest so she wouldn't see what was going on.

"Shh, its ok, Mikomi. Nothing's going to get you"

She and everyone else now knew that this was the fox that ruined her life and took everything from her.

Bakuto for some reason felt bad for her. He thought it was unlike her to act this way.

Mikomi just shook like crazy as she avoided the fight.

Cloud pitied her.

He recalled that she said that she feared the fox greatly and he could see why.

Even though it was just a transformation justu, the beast still looked scary.

Mikomi had every right to fear this thing.

He rubbed her back as she continued to cry in Tifa's chest.

"It's ok, Mikomi. It's not real"

She continued to shake as she recalled that dreadful night.

Bakuto watched the battle as it came to a close.

It appeared that one minute Naruto was on Bunta's head and then the next minute, he was in the air, landing a punch to Garra's face.

"I think Naruto just won"

Cloud and Tifa watched as Shukaku dissolved into sand saw the bodies of Naruto and Garra fall to the ground.

"Cloud!" Tifa cried.

The blonde understood and went to catch the boy.

Bakuto looked at Mikomi, who was still being held by Tifa.

She was still crying her eyes.

He sighed and looked away.

"I'll be nice to her just this once" he muttered.

* * *

Naruto struggled as he tried to get closer to Garra.

He couldn't move a muscle. The only way he could move forward is by digging his chin into the ground.

He thought by lecturing Garra would make him understand how it wasn't good to be lonely.

He wanted him to know that there were people out there who would want to be with him.

He stopped when it became too much for him.

He looked at Garra with such sad eyes.

"That pain…of being all alone…it's not trivial… the way you feel…I don't know why, but…I understand it so well…the hurt"

Garra looked surprised.

"But…I've got people who care about me now…people that are important to me…I won't let you hurt them…even if I have to kill you I will stop this"

"Why " Garra muttered.

"Why should you care about others?"

Naruto gave him a weak grin.

"Because they saved me from my pit of loneliness…and they understand me…I couldn't live without them…I love them"

"Love" Garra muttered.

Naruto went to move again with a lot of struggle.

"Naruto"

The blonde turned to see Cloud kneeling next to him.

"Ni-san" he said in a tired voice.

The older blonde gave him a small smile.

"Sakura is safe. You don't need to fight anymore"

"Really?"

He closed his eyes and rested his head.

"Oh goody"

He passed right then and there.

Garra's siblings appeared moments later and stood prepared to fight.

Cloud glared at them and grabbed his buster sword.

"That's enough" Garra said.

"I quit"

His brothers looked at him for a moment, but complied.

They picked him up and left.

Cloud picked Naruto up and carried him in his arms.

"Maybe seeing you will calm Mikomi down"

He went back to where the others were, hoping that seeing Naruto's face would clam his best friend.

* * *

Mikomi kept crying, even when tears wouldn't come out.

Tifa rubbed her back and held her like a mother would with her child.

Cat Sith and Pakkun just hugged her with their tiny little paws.

Cloud came back with Naruto in tow.

"Look, Mikomi. Naruto's here" Tifa said.

Her sobs subsided as looked at her brother.

"Naruto?...did he…win?"

"Yeah! He bet that Garra kid's rump" Cat Sith said.

Cloud carefully handed him over to her.

Mikomi looked down at his peaceful face.

Relief flooded without her as she looked at him sleeping.

She ran her hand through his hair.

"_Naruto" _she thought.

"_I'm so glad you're ok"_

She held him close to her chest like she did a long time ago.

* * *

The Leaf village had won the battle. Orochimaru ran away with his tail between his legs and the sand retreated.

Everyone came out victoriously. However, many lives were lost.

No one was more upset when they found out they had lost the Third Hokage.

* * *

**A/N: I hope this makes up for my little April Fools joke that I played on you earlier.**

**Feel free to send your reviews and tell me what you thought of this.**

**Ja ne**


	49. The Will of Fire

Chapter 49: The Will of Fire

**A/N: Hey everyone, as you can tell, this will be a sad chapter. Funerals tend to be sad after all. Hopefully no one will cry during this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy 7 or Naruto. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Myou and Taimat.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Funerals were one of the things that Mikomi hated in life.

It always reminded her that she would never see the person that died ever again.

That was how she felt the day that her parents died.

She felt like her world was ripped right out from under her.

As she walked to the funeral with her friends, she recalled the day of her parents funeral.

* * *

_The heavens were weeping over the loss of two great individuals._

_The day after the nine tailed fox attacked the village; there was a huge funeral for all of the lives that were lost._

_There was a separate funeral for the Fourth Hokage and his wife._

_Only the village chancellors and a few friends were allowed to pay their respects at the time._

_Mikomi held onto Yuri's black kimono as she cried._

_The young medic held a new born Naruto close to her chest. She didn't trust anyone to be near her godchildren, so she kept them close by._

_Jiraiya held Mikomi's hand when she went to put the flowers on her parents caskets._

_Everyone gave her a dirty look and whispered things._

_Mikomi hid behind Jiraiya as they walked back to Yuri._

_She continued to cry as the funeral went on._

_Yuri knelt down and hugged her with one arm._

"_Shh. Don't cry honey. Your parents wouldn't want to see you cry" Yuri said. _

_Mikomi wiped the tears from her face._

"_But…mommy and daddy are gone. They're dead because of me!"_

_Jiraiya pulled her into a bear hug._

"_That's not true. You had nothing to do with your mother's death and you're father was doing what any dad would do by protecting his child. You are not at fault"_

_Mikomi just continued to cry._

_Her parents were dead and she was never going to see them again. _

_She had lost the two most wonderful people that she knew and Naruto would never know about them._

_She looked at the tiny infant that was sleeping within Yuri's arms._

_How could such an innocent child carry such an evil and fearsome demon? _

_It wasn't right. It was unfair that he was brought into this world, only to be made into a host for a demon._

_She looked at her parent's caskets one last time before she left with her godparents._

_She touched Naruto's face as he stirred from his sleep._

"_I'll protect you…no matter what"_

* * *

Mikomi's mind was pretty much on auto-pilot as she went to the funeral.

Everyone was wearing black to show how mournful they were over the loss of their great Hokage.

Yuri and Jiraiya were more miserable than everyone else.

Sarutobi was their teacher after all, so they felt that they had lost a father figure.

They remembered the good old times from when they were Genin.

* * *

_Jiraiya was tied to the post._

_He had failed the bell test once again and now he was suffering the consequences._

_Sarutobi was standing next to him to make sure that he didn't escape._

"_What am I going to do with you?" he sighed._

"_If you were more like Orochimaru, then you wouldn't be failing so badly"_

_Jiraiya got ticked off at that. He always hated it when he was compared to his teammate._

"_All you ever say is 'Orochimaru this' and 'Orochimaru that'. I'm way better at Ninjustu than he is! My transparence justu is flawless when I go out to research! I haven't been caught once!"_

_Sarutobi sighed deeply. He knew it was wrong to pick favorites among his students. _

_He felt bad about it, so he decided to make it up to his student._

"_If you think you're justu is that good…then I'll have to come along with you next time"_

_A light blush appeared across Sarutobi's face as he said that._

_There was a pregnant pause between the two._

"_Wow, Sarutobi-sensei. You're a perv"_

* * *

_Yuri sat in Sarutobi's office as he finished up some paper work. Being Hokage meant you had a lot of paper work to do._

_The young medic flipped through a modeling magazine and looked at the pretty models._

_She wished she had a figure like the girls in the magazine. Sure, she was nicely shaped out for someone her age, but she felt put out compared to Tsunade. Jiraiya would always go crazy when he saw her and it made her feel jealous. Even though they were cousins, she still felt bad when he would compliment other girls, but not her._

_She looked up at her magazine and looked at her Sensei._

"_Sarutobi-sensei"_

_Sarutobi looked up from the last of his paper work._

"_Yes, Yuri?"_

"_Do you think I'm pretty?"_

_Sarutobi's brush jerked a little as he heard that. He quickly composed himself as best as he could._

"_W-why bring that up all of a sudden?"_

_Yuri slouched on the couch._

"_I don't know. I wonder why none of the guys find me attractive and they do for Tsunade. Is it because I don't have as big of a chest as her or something? Or is it because I'm not as seductive as she is?"_

_Sarutobi tried to fight back the blush that was threatening to come across his face._

_He pulled his Hokage hat down, so she wouldn't see his face._

"_You shouldn't be comparing yourself to Tsunade. She's a lot older than you, so of course she's going to be a bit more…developed than you"_

_It was wrong to be talking about this with his student. He wouldn't even have this talk with his own daughter._

_Yuri sighed._

"_Man, I don't want to wait long! I want to be pretty now! I want boys flocking all over me and treating me like a princess and lathering at my beauty!"_

_Sarutobi coughed nervously._

"_These just take time, Yuri. You're still a young bud waiting to blossom into a beautiful flower. You can't rush time"_

_Yuri pouted and crossed her arms._

"_Damn you, mother nature!"_

_Sarutobi just chuckled and went back to his work._

* * *

Those were the good old days.

They were able to get where they were today thanks to their sensei.

Everyone was horrified over his dead.

AVALANCHE was devastated.

They grew to respect the old man and thought of him as their idol.

He treated them not only as guests during their stay, but he also thought of them as citizens of the village.

He let them get paid like a normal ninja would when they helped out with the village and he tried to show them how the ninja system worked.

He gave them a lot of knowledge on the ninja world and told them more about the nature of the Jinchurikis (for Naruto and Mikomi's sake)

Bakuto and Yugito were upset as well.

They really looked up to him since he allowed for them to stay as representatives; even though they were Jinchuriki's themselves. He always said that everyone deserves a place in this world, including them. He made them felt wanted and needed. Not even their Raikage acted like that. He made them wish that they were Leaf ninjas at times.

Mikomi was sad that Sarutobi was dead. He looked after her when her parents died, and he didn't treat her badly like the rest of the village did. He said that she was a hero for harboring Usagi inside of her and that she earned his respect. He was the grandfather that she never had.

Naruto was the most upset. He always idolized the old man for being Hokage. He was his role model and inspired him to start his dream as Hokage. He always had a sense of humor and thought it was funny when he fell victim to his Sexy Jutsu.

The Third Hokage left with many admirers. He wasn't just the village's leader; he was also everyone's friend.

* * *

The heavens continued to cry as everyone paid their respects for their beloved Hokage.

Denzel and Marlene were sobbing uncontrollably. Sarutobi acted like a grandfather to them.

Konohamaru, Sarutobi's real grandson, wasn't fairing any better. The poor child was crying his eyes out for his grandfather.

"Grandpa" he sobbed.

Mikomi looked at the boy sadly.

She knew all too well what it felt like to lose someone precious to you. She felt so lonely after her parents death.

* * *

_12 Years ago._

_Mikomi sobbed at her parents grave. She had been there all day so she could be with them._

_She was so consumed with her tears that she didn't even notice Sarutobi was right behind her._

"_It's has already been a year, eh?...It's not easy to hide one's grief and pretend to laugh"_

_She gave him a stubborn look and rubbed her eyes._

"_I-I'm not sad! It's honorable for Shinobi to die in the line of duty! My dad saved this village from the fox monster at the cost of his life…he's a hero! And I'm his daughter! I'm not sad because I'm never alone! And these…these are tears of joy!"_

_Sarutobi hugged her softly._

"_Enough…a girl hugs her knees only when she truly feels alone"_

_She bit her lip slightly._

"_However, as you say, you are not alone…for all of Konoha's shinobi…carry the will of fire within them"_

_She whipped away her tears._

"_The will of fire?"_

"_The burning desire to defend this village. So long as on bears this will of fire, each and every one of those who live in this village are family. My dear Mikomi…do you posses it?"_

_She looked at her parent's grave for a moment._

"_Yeah…I do"_

_Sarutobi smiled fondly at her._

* * *

He was right in a way. She had a few friends from the village that cared for her. But when she looked at AVALANCHE, she felt such a strong bond between them. They willingly wanted to be her friends from the beginning. That was something no one would want to do normally. Even Yugito and Bakuto held a certain place within her heart.

Naruto looked at Sarutobi's casket sadly.

"Nee-chan…why did the old man have to die like that? Why did he risk his life for everyone?"

Mikomi gave him a small smile.

"It's because he really loved the village. He didn't want everyone's smiling faces to vanish. He did what any leader would do, he protected the ones that he loved most. It's the same with you and me. I would risk my life, just so you could live another day. It would tear me up if anything bad were to happen to you. That's how important you are to me. That's how important you were to the Third Hokage"

Naruto looked at his sister and hugged her tightly.

She returned the hug equally and just let the rain soak them.

* * *

Yuri looked at her godchildren sadly. It wasn't right that they had to be here. Funerals weren't meant for young children. It just reminded her of when Minato and Kushina died. She saw two little infants standing over their parents caskets. It was too much for her.

"I never thought I would have to go to another funeral again" she said softly.

Jiraiya didn't want anyone to know that he had returned to the village so he was MIA at the moment.

She looked at AVALANCHE.

"How are you guys doing?"

Tifa wiped the tears that gathered in her eyes.

"Fine" she choked.

"Just a little sad"

Yuffie was bawling on Cid's shoulder and blew her nose on his sleeve.

Yuri just shook her head and looked back at Mikomi and Naruto.

"The last time I ever went to a funeral…was Minato and Kushina's" She said.

She looked away sadly.

"I've never seen Mikomi so torn like she was that day. Her world was completely destroyed and she had no one to support her. Everyone just gave her a dirty look and made her feel that she wasn't welcomed to the funeral"

"But it was for her parents" Yugito said.

"It's because she was the host for Usagi .After she became a Jinchuriki, she was the most hated individual of the village. She was a monster to them. A monster that shouldn't be loved"

Tifa looked at her friend sadly.

"But she didn't do anything"

"It doesn't matter. Just the fact that she harbors a demon is enough to have everyone hate her"

Yuri shook her head sadly as tears pooled her eyes.

"She was so miserable after her parents died. She became so sad and emotionless; it was as if she died on the inside"

She bit her lip.

"She was so miserable that she went so far as to nearly…"

She couldn't say the rest, it was too much for her to remember that day.

Tifa didn't know what she was talking about, but she figured that it must have been really bad if the tough medic could break down over it.

She just pulled the medic into a hug and rubbed her back.

"It's ok, Yuri. Mikomi is still here, right?"

Yuri nodded.

"Yeah, you're right"

"Then that's all that matters"

* * *

The rain suddenly stopped after a few minutes. The clouds broke up and let the sun shine its rays of light over the village. It seemed that Sarutobi was telling the village that he was at peace and that he wanted everyone to be happy.

Naruto grabbed onto Mikomi's sleeve and started pulling her.

"Hey Nee-chan! Let's go get some Ramen!"

She grinned at her brother.

"Sure, why not?"

He took off running.

"Last one there has to buy!"

She laughed as she chased after her brother.

Yuffie ran after them.

"Hey! I want some Ramen too!"

Yuri smiled at her godchildren.

"_Minato…Kushina….you don't have to worry about Naruto and Mikomi"_

She watched as their friends headed for Ichiraku.

"_They have friends that are looking after them now. You don't have to worry about a thing"_

She looked up at the Hokage monument.

"_Sarutobi-sensei…it seems all the little tree leaves of Konoha…have splendidly inherited the will of fire….those little embers that alight upon the tree leaves will eventually blaze strong and fierce…and will come to light and protect this village once more…with a new Hokage"_

With that, she went after her godchildren. There was no way that she was going to get stuck paying.

* * *

On the border of the leaf village; three lone figures looked at the village. Their black and red cloaks billowed in the wind and their hats pulled over their faces.

Upon closer inspection, one of them was a female while the other two were male.

"They've escaped complete annihilation" The first male said.

"But it appears they've suffered heavy losses" The female said.

"For such a prosperous village…" The second male said.

"It's pathetic"

The first male looked at him.

"That's unlike you…so you still have lingering affections towards your homeland? Even you have nostalgia"

Sharingan eyes peered though one of the hats.

"No…none at all"

* * *

**A/N: Dun! Dun! Dun! I'm sure you know what's going to happen next! Guess who's going to show his pretty face to the village?**

**Now is where things get really interesting for our heroes.**

**Remember to review.**

**Ja ne**


	50. Red Clouds

Chapter 50: Red Clouds

**A/N: Hello! I bet you guys already know who's going to show up in this chapter thanks to the title. Can you believe that we're already at 50 chapters?! And I'm not even half way done yet! This awesome! It's all thanks to you guys for reviewing and keeping this story alive. I hope you look forward to this chapter Yumi! This one is dedicated to you!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!**

Everyone was working hard after Sarutobi's funeral. The village needed to be fixed and the villagers didn't want to leave it in shambles. Missions were put on hold by the village elders so that they could focus more on protecting the village.

The Sand had admitted defeat and revealed that they were in league with Orochimaru so they could strengthen their village. Garra had sent Naruto and Mikomi a letter apologizing for the fight and that he was going to try to understand the concept of love like they did.

The Raikage from Bakuto and Yugito's village heard about what happened and had ordered them to return home.

Bakuto just looked at the scroll that the Raikage sent them and just ripped it to shreds.

"This village is home to us. We're not leaving it in ruins like this"

Mikomi was surprised that they would want to stay, but then again, they had been staying here for nearly over a year now, so it was no surprise.

Everything was going dandy for a while, until Cloud got a phone call.

It seemed that Rufus found some clues to where Sephiroth was and that he needed AVALANCHE to return to Gaia.

Everyone was in a pinch with this. They wanted to find Sephiroth and finish this battle, but they didn't want to leave the village after it had just been attacked.

Mikomi just waved them off.

"Sephiroth is more important than this. Ninja villages always get attacked. You guys go finish the score with Sephiroth and then come back if you want"

Yuffie tackled her into a hug.

"You need to come with us, 'Komi-chan! Sephiroth attacked you before! You're involved with this too!"

She just patted her Wutai buddy.

"I wish I could, Yuffie. But no one from the village is supposed to leave. We're short on man power so anyone that is available has to double shift. Even Naruto has to work"

Yuffie pouted but didn't let her go.

"We'll stay for a few more days just so you can take it easy on fixing the village" Tifa said.

"Its fine Tifa, I can take care of myself. I have been for 13 years. You go find Sephiroth and beat him"

Cid and Barret came by with a piece of wood and a tool box.

"Hey, you slackers! Grab a hammer and start working! This village isn't going to fix itself up, now is it?"

Mikomi laughed.

"Coming Cid"

She picked up the paint buckets that she was carrying and followed them.

Sure, she was sad that her friends were leaving, but she had to remember that this wasn't their home and that they needed to return soon. She just hoped that she could enjoy these moments with them before they left to finish the score with Sephiroth.

Off in the distance, the three cloaked figures watched as Mikomi ran off with her friends.

"She sure has grown since we last saw her" The female said.

The male next to her nodded.

"I wonder how strong she's gotten since then."

The third man grabbed the sword on his back.

"Why don't we go see? I'm just itching for a fight"

The man grabbed his arm.

"Not yet. We need to attack when she's not surrounded by her little friends"

"Not to mention Lady Yuri as well. She follows her like a hawk" the female added.

"We'll attack when the time is right. Until then, we'll just watch"

The man just grumbled and let go of his sword.

"I hate waiting"

_The Next Day_

"Nee-chan!" Naruto whined.

Mikomi sighed as she finished nailing a floorboard to one of the roofs.

"What, Naruto?"

"Can you train me?"

She stopped her hammering and looked at her brother.

"Do you not realize that our village was just under attack the other day? Everyone is trying to fix the village and you're more concerned about training?"

Naruto rubbed his head.

"It's not that I'm more concerned about my training. I just want to become stronger in case we're attacked again. As future Hokage, it's my duty to protect the village"

"I'm touched that you're concerned for the village's safety. But for now, you need to focus more about fixing the village than focusing on learning new jutsus and chakra control"

"But Nee-chan"

"No buts. Now go grab some tools and start fixing things up"

Naruto grumbled and grabbed a hammer.

"This is stupid. I don't want to do this"

"Well, the village isn't going to fix itself up now is it?"

Naruto didn't say anything and just nailed a piece of wood to the roof.

After they ran out of wood, they went to go see how everyone else was doing.

Cid was currently arguing with Yuffie over the measurements on a piece of wood while Myou and Tohru were watching.

"You got it all wrong! It's supposed to be 2x4, not 3x6!"

Yuffie just put her hands on her hips.

"Oh? And since when have you become the carpenter expert? You don't work on houses! You work on airships! You don't know what you're doing!"

"I'm a mechanic; so therefore, I know how to measure things out!"

"That doesn't mean anything, you old loon!"

They kept bickering back and forth while Myou sighed.

"Sometimes, I wonder how Captain became friends with a group like these guys"

Tohru nodded.

"But at least they're a lively bunch. They make things interesting when they're around and Captain seems to be really happy when she's around them"

"True"

Mikomi just giggled as Cid and Yuffie still argued.

"Well, it looks like some of us are lively today. That's good to see"

Yuffie cheered up when she saw her ninja buddy.

"'Komi-chan! You're just in time to lecture Cid about how to measure things properly. He thinks that I cut the wood wrong and he's having a fit"

"You made the boards too short and wide. They need to be long and thin, you idiot!"

"Don't call me an idiot, you old fart!"

"Why you little!"

They had a mini slap fight with each other.

Naruto was laughing as he watched his sister's friends fight. He always thought it was hilarious when Yuffie and Cid fought. It was like a comic routine.

"And they're off" Tohru said.

Mikomi just smirked at her friends. It was nice to see them acting like themselves after everything that happened.

That smirk vanished when a bucket of red paint was poured on her head. The crimson liquid dripped from her hair and trailed down her face in streams.

Naruto was horrified to see his sister like that, but seconds later, paint was poured on his head as well.

Cid and Yuffie stopped their fighting when they saw this happen. Myou's hand shot up to her mouth.

"Captain"

Mikomi just wiped the paint out of her face and looked up to see two Chunins holding empty paint buckets.

"Check it out. It's the fox siblings" one snickered.

"They look they just stepped out of a horror movie with all that paint on them" the other said.

"It fits them since they're demons"

Mikomi just glared at them. She thought with the village pretty much destroyed that everyone would focus more on repairing things than tormenting her and Naruto.

Didn't they realize that it was her brother who saved the village? If it wasn't for him then Gaara would be attacking the village as Shukau. Did they really have to do this to him now?

Naruto held her arm in a scared manner. He was tough when it came to things like this and he would just brush it off. But every now and then, he would lose his cool exterior and become the terrified little boy that would hide behind his sister.

Mikomi always hated it when he would become like this. It was a stab to his pride and to his ego. She didn't care if they did stuff like this to her, but when they did it to Naruto, she would get angry.

Her eyes turned red as she glared at the chunins. She wanted to beat them to a bloody pulp for humiliating her brother like this. She wanted them to pay.

The chunins were laughing as they pointed at them. Those laughs suddenly turned into girly screams when a spear was chucked at them.

Cid glared daggers at the two males.

"You little shits! Who do you think you are to pour paint on other?!"

The two chunins stuttered a bit.

"U-uh, it just fell! Yeah, the paint bucket just fell" one said.

"Yeah, we didn't mean it. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It's their own fault for getting covered in paint" The other said.

"What a load of crap!" Myou said.

"You did it on purpose! Why else would you be laughing at them?"

They both looked away, clearly showing that they were guilty.

Cid cracked his knuckles.

If there was one thing he hated about this village, it was how badly everyone treated Naruto and Mikomi. They didn't do anything wrong, so why did they always have to get picked on?

He went into over protective mode as he looked at the two chunins.

"I'm going to teach you punks a lesson" he said.

He sent chakra to his feet and jumped up to where the chunins were. They both panicked and ran away from the pilot.

Cid ran after them and picked up his spear.

"Get back here you little maggots! I'm going to beat seven shades of shit into those thick skulls of your!"

Yuffie ran after them with her giant shuriken out.

"How dare you attack my ninja buddy!"

They left Mikomi with her brother and her two squad members.

Tohru looked at his captain sadly.

He had learned about the nine tailed fox incident from Shoka and he just found it to be horrible. His captain was a nice person, so why was she treated like this?

"Are you ok, Captain?" he asked.

Mikomi just gave him a dull look as she nodded.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just need to wash this paint off before it dries"

"Do you need any help?" Myou asked.

Mikomi shook her head.

"No. I'll just go to the hot springs"

She tugged Naruto along.

"Come on, Naruto. Let's get you cleaned up"

He nodded slowly and let his sister take him to the hot springs.

Myou and Tohru watched sadly as they left.

"Poor, Captain" Tohru said.

"Why does everyone have to treat her so badly? She didn't do anything wrong" Myou said.

Tohru looked at the ground sadly.

"I never realized just how cruel people can be up until now"

Myou nodded.

"Yeah, but at least there are some good people like us who are there for Captain Mikomi"

Tohru smiled at that.

"And there's Lady Yuri, her friends from the Cloud village and AVALANCHE as well. They're all there to look after her"

"Right"

And evil grin suddenly appeared over Myou's face.

"Hey, since those goons humiliated our Captain, I say we do the same and give them the Anbu Black ops treatment"

Tohru wore a similar grin.

"What a good idea, Lieutenant Myou. I love the way you think"

They ran after Cid and Yuffie to have their fair share of the punishment game.

Naruto blushed as Mikomi washed his hair. They were in the joint hot springs and Mikomi was washing the paint out of her brother's hair. Normally, she would be embarrassed bathing with her younger brother, but she could care less right now. She was more concerned over his well being than over her own insecurities.

As she got the last of the paint out of his blond hair, she started washing the paint out of her own. She had a hard time with her hair since the paint was starting to dry, but she didn't care. She dunked her head into the water and scrubbed her head as hard as she could. Her scalp burned after words, but at least she got the paint out.

The water around them turned red once they were done cleaning. It looked like it was blood instead of water.

Naruto moved as far away as he could from his sister. Sure, he wouldn't mind bathing with women, but not with his sister. He just felt that this was so wrong. His face was so red that it was almost the same shade as the paint.

Mikomi peered over her shoulder to see how her brother was doing.

"Are you all washed up, Naruto?"

He had his back to her as he waved. He refused to see her naked, even if she had her back to him.

He just waved his hand to let her know that he was fine.

"_I may be a perv, but I have my morals! I refuse to see my sister naked!"_

He let out a girly scream when he felt water being poured on his head.

Mikomi just laughed and rubbed his head.

"You are so easy to read, Naruto" she laughed.

Naruto just lowered his head into the water to where only his eyes were visible.

"Aww, don't be such a wimp, Naruto. We're just taking a bath. There's nothing wrong with that"

Naruto just blew bubbles as his response.

Mikomi just shrugged and went back to cleaning herself.

After a while of silence, Naruto lifted his head from the water.

"Nee-chan?"

Mikomi looked over at Naruto to see him staring at the water.

"What is it, Naruto?"

He seemed to look sad over something.

"Is Ni-san and everyone else really leaving?"

She had told him earlier that Cloud had to return to him world. It really upset the boy since he grew so attached to them. They became his family after all.

She gave him a sad smile.

"Yeah, they have to go back to their world for something. They promised that they wouldn't take long so they can return"

"Are you sure? What if they're just saying that just so they can get rid of us? What if they're trying to run away from us like everyone else?"

She knew why he would think that. After having everyone from the village treating them like crap, he didn't want to think that the people that he loved were abandoning him.

She patted his shoulder.

"I promise you that they're not leaving us. Tifa wanted us to come with just so we wouldn't be alone"

"But why can't we?"

"Because we have a village that needs to be fixed, in case you haven't noticed"

She wrung her hair out of the access water.

"As soon as the village is repaired, no one is to do any missions or training. We have to put all of our strength into restoring our village to its former glory. That means no training until then"

Naruto pouted.

"But, Nee-chan. I need to train harder so I can be better than Sasuke"

"You can do that once things settle down. Besides, I don't think Sasuke will be training any time soon. He needs to help out as well, you're fine"

"But that gives me an even bigger reason to train. While he's off doing nothing, I can be getting stronger while he gets weaker"

"The answer is no, Naruto. Now dry up so we can get back to repairing"

Naruto crossed his arms.

He didn't like it that his sister had the final say in everything.

"_Just because she's older than me, doesn't mean she has to be the boss of me"_

He got out of the spring and went over to where his clothes were.

As he put his jacket on, he spotted Mikomi's bin with her clothes in it.

An idea came into his head as he saw her clothes. He laughed evilly as he picked them up and went over to where Mikomi was getting out of the pool.

She wrapped a towel around her and ran her hands through her hair to dry it out.

A fox like grin appeared over the boy's face as he thought of his plan.

"_This will show that Nee-chan isn't the boss of me"_

"Hey, Nee-chan. Do we really have to repair the village?" he called out.

Mikomi just rolled her eyes, oblivious to what her brother was up to.

"Yes, Naruto. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

"Well how are you going to do that when you don't have any clothes?"

"What?"

She saw her brother waving her clothes out in front of him.

"Have fun fixing things in a towel!"

Her eyes went wide.

"Naruto!"

He ran off laughing his head off.

Mikomi's eyes went red and she ran after her brother. She held onto the towel that was wrapped around her tightly.

"Naruto, get back here!"

Naruto just laughed as he ran through the village.

"Ha ha! Catch me if you can!"

Mikomi ran as fast as she could after her brother. He had a lot of nerve to pull something like this.

"Naruto! When I get my hands on you, you're going to wish that you were never born!"

Naruto just laughed and ran away from his sister.

Yuri had just finished up healing a few people. Since she was a medic, her role was to heal all of the injured. It was a tiring task since she had to use healing Chakra, but it was better than fixing up buildings like everyone else.

She was walking down one of the streets where they had a lot of street vendors out trying to sell goods.

It was nice to see that people were still working, even after what had happened. It was as if they were trying to tell the Third Hokage that they held the will of fire within them and that they weren't going to give up so easily.

As she was walking, she saw Cloud, Tifa and Vincent talking with each other.

"Hey guys!"

She went up to them and patted Cloud on the shoulder.

"So I hear that you're going back to your world"

Tifa nodded.

"Just temporarily. We have some things that we need to take care of that we just can't push it aside"

"Mikomi was saying something about that" the medic said.

"How is she anyway?" Vincent asked.

They all felt bad that they had to leave her behind like this, but since she couldn't leave the village, they couldn't take her with.

"She's fine. She's been focused on fixing the village and keeping Naruto in line"

"That's good to hear. We were worried about her"

"Don't be. She's a tough girl, she can handle herself fine"

"Yo!"

Kakashi and Gai came over to them.

"So this is where everyone is hanging out" Kakashi said.

Cloud just glared at him. He still didn't get over how he treated Mikomi at the exams. He just didn't like him

The scarecrow's eye curled up when he reached them.

"I take it that you're all done with your work?"

"Yeah, we finished a couple of minutes ago. We're just taking a break" Tifa said.

"I never imagined that village would be so trashed by one person" Vincent said.

Gai pumped his fist in the air. He had flames in his eyes.

"Curse that Orochimaru! He has brought shame to our village!"

Everyone sighed when they realized that Gai was going on with one of his rants.

"Gai, give it a rest" Kakashi said tiredly.

The spandex ninja just ignored him and went on with his little speech.

"I feel so ashamed that I didn't notice what Orochimaru was doing. It's a stab to my pride and honor as a leaf ninja!"

"Here he goes again" Yuri sighed.

After living in this village with Gai as Mikomi's friend, Yuri had learned that it was pointless to stop him when he was having one of his little speeches. She learned that the best way to deal with these situations was to just ignore him and do what she was doing before.

She just looked at Kakashi while Gai was off rambling.

"So how have you been doing, Kakashi? I haven't seen you around since the funeral. Have you been working hard?"

Kakashi shrugged.

"Pretty much, yeah. I haven't been given any missions lately, so I've been helping out with anything that needs repairing"

"That's nice"

Kakashi looked at Mikomi's friends and gave them a wave.

"So how have you guys been doing? You haven't been working too hard, have you?"

"We've helped fix up a few buildings. This village is considered to be our home too you know" Tifa said.

"NARUTO GET BACK HERE!"

"Catch me if you can, Nee-chan!"

Everyone turned around to see Naruto and Mikomi running towards them.

Naruto was running with a bunch of clothes in his arms while Mikomi was chasing after him in a towel. She looked really mad while Naruto was laughing his head off.

"What the hell?" Vincent said.

"This can't be good" Cloud said.

"And why does Mikomi have to run in a fricken towel?"

Naruto ran up to them and laughed really hard.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Yuri asked.

Naruto beamed as he held up his sister's clothes.

"Nee-chan was being a jerk, so I stole her clothes"

Yuri held the bridge of her nose.

"You've been spending too much time with Jiraiya" she mumbled.

Mikomi ran over to her brother with murder in her eyes.

"Naruto! You are so dead when I get my hands on you!"

As she ran up to them, she passed Gai, who was still caught up in his little speech that he didn't know what was going on.

"Then, when I get my hands on Orochimaru, I'm going to ram my fist into that freaky face of his and POW!"

As he said 'pow', he punched the air in front of him while Mikomi ran past him. As this happened, his hand has somehow snagged her towel and ripped it right off her body.

Mikomi's eyes went huge and she skidded to a stop in front of a vendor booth. Luckily, it was high enough so no one was able to see her feminine parts, but it was low enough to where they could see past her shoulder blades and where her breast line started.

She let out a high pitched scream and tried to cover her body from everyone when she saw them.

Cloud, Vincent and Kakashi quickly looked away. They each had a red streak running across their faces in embarrassment for nearly seeing their friend naked.

Naruto screamed and covered his face with Mikomi's clothes.

Gai stared at the towel dumb founded.

"Huh? Where did this come from?"

"Gai!!!" Mikomi screamed.

Gai turned around and spotted Mikomi hiding her body behind a vendor booth from everyone.

He let out a scream and quickly turned around with his face beat red.

"M-Mikomi, I-I didn't expect to see you out here…naked"

Mikomi glared at him while she hid further into the booth.

"I wouldn't be naked if you didn't snag my towel!"

She turned her glare to her brother.

"Or if Naruto didn't steel my clothes"

Naruto laughed nervously, but didn't look up.

Tifa and Yuri quickly went over to her and stood in front of her so none of the boys could see her.

Tifa turned to Vincent.

"Vincent, can I have your cape?"

The gunman quickly unbuckled his cloak and handed it to Tifa without looking at them.

"Thanks"

She gave it to Mikomi to cover herself.

Yuri glared at her godson.

"Naruto, give me your sister's clothes, now!"

The boy handed them to his godmother with his eyes closed tight.

Yuri took them from him and back handed him across the face.

"What's the matter with you? I taught you better than to do things like this"

Naruto didn't say anything and just kept his eyes closed.

Yuri handed Mikomi her clothes and made sure none of the guys were watching as she changed.

Gai was beat red as he thought about what had just happened. He didn't even realize that he was still holding her towel tightly to his chest.

"_Dear god! I nearly saw Mikomi naked! I didn't even realize that she was near, I usually do since I tend to follow her every now and then…but that's not the point right now! Right now, I need to focus on the fact that I've pretty much humiliated Mikomi in front of her friends by letting them almost see her naked body! Her lovely…naked…body"_

He opened his eyes for a moment.

He saw that the guys looked away so that Mikomi could change in privacy. He looked out of the corner of his eye, to see Mikomi changing behind the street vendor with Tifa and Yuri blocking her from view. He could still see her, despite her girlfriends covering her. This could be his chance to see her.

"_I know this is wrong and not gentleman like. But this may be my only chance to see the beautiful Mikomi in her heavenly form like this. This is a once in a life time opportunity and I shouldn't miss it. I'll 'accidentally' turn around, thinking that she was done and I can pull it off as an accident! Might Gai, you are one clever bastard. Now it's show time!"_

He casually turned around with a goofy grin across his face. He eyes went heart shaped as he anticipated the sight of seeing Mikomi in her godly form.

Just as he was able to get a glimpse of Mikomi, a metal fist slammed into his face.

He went flying and landed into a heap.

"OW! My face!"

He held his nose and looked up to see a horrifying sight.

Vincent and Cloud loomed over him with a murderous look in their eyes. Their chakra radiated off of them, sending a deathly air to them.

Kakashi was glaring at him as well. Normally, he would just look past his antics as being stupid, but this one rubbed him the wrong way. No one was allowed to look at his teammate naked, not even he was allowed to. Why should he be able to see her like that and not him?

"_I have more rights than he does. I've known her longer and I've had a crush on her before he did! If anyone is allowed to see Mikomi like this, it's me!"_

He just continued to glare at his 'rival' as Cloud and Vincent closed in on him.

Gai laughed nervously and waved his hands.

"N-now guys. It was just an accident, I swear! I thought she was already changed"

Naruto knew where this was going and he didn't want to get caught up in it. He was in enough trouble for taking his sister's clothes.

"Oh, would you look at the time! I'm going to Ichiraku for lunch. Bye!"

He ran as fast as he could away from his family. If there was one thing that he feared more than Yuri and Mikomi's wrath, it was Cloud's fist. The Ex-SOLDIER could really pack a punch with Mako running through his veins. Naruto remembered a time when he got into a fight with Sasuke that was so bad that Cloud had to whack him upside the head to stop. Needless to say, he had a huge bump on his head for two weeks before it went down.

The guys really didn't pay attention to him as he left. They were more focused on Gai as he tried to weasel his way out of a serious beating. That wasn't going to happen. They were planning on beating him anyway for snagging Mikomi's towel. Sure, it was an accident. But he could have handed her towel back so she could cover herself up.

Mikomi huffed as she put on the last of her clothing. She fixed her tube top to make sure nothing would pop out before she stepped out from behind the vendor.

"All right guys. I'm changed"

They spared her a glance as she walked up to them.

She handed Vincent his cloak as she got to them.

"Thanks for letting me borrow your cloak, Vinnie"

He nodded in response and took it from her.

Mikomi glared at Gai as he slowly backed away from Vincent and Cloud.

"Gai" she growled.

Gai laughed nervously as he looked at her.

"Eh…I'm really sorry about what happened, Mikomi. I didn't know you were around. I'm a gentleman through and through"

She tapped her foot in anger. She had a tendency to do that when she was angry.

"If you're a gentleman, then why were you trying to take a peek at me?"

He made a high pitched noise as he waved his hands around dramatically.

"You have it all wrong! I thought you were finished changing, I swear! I would have never looked if you were still changing!"

"Uh huh, sure"

She spun on her heel and looked at Cloud and Vincent.

"You can do whatever you want with him, I don't care"

She stomped off in some random direction and left her friends.

"Are you sure, you're alright, Mikomi?" Tifa asked.

"Peachy" Mikomi snapped.

Yuri sighed when she left.

"She' going to be in a bad mood all day, I just know it"

"Poor Mikomi" Tifa said.

Kakashi felt bad for his teammate.

"Mikomi, wait!"

He ran after her so he could cheer her up.

Yuri and Tifa smiled.

"He must really like her" Tifa said.

Yuri nodded.

"He's been in love with her for as long as I can remember. They both love each other, but their too stubborn to admit it. Or they're too scared"

"I see"

They both turned to the guys to see Gai about to get creamed.

"Normally, I would intervene on things like this, but since he humiliated Mikomi like that, I'm just going to let the guys handle this" Yuri said.

Tifa nodded in agreement.

"He deserves it"

Gai let out a girly scream as Cloud slowly pulled out his Buster Sword.

The three cloaked figures watched as Mikomi stormed away from her friends.

"Do you think now is the best time to capture her?" The man with the sword asked.

The female nodded.

"She isn't with Lady Yuri or Master Jiraiya. This is where she is most venerable"

"Let's try to keep is quiet. I don't want to draw any attention while we're doing this" The other male said.

They all left their hiding place and followed their target.

Mikomi stormed down the streets in anger. She was beyond pissed at Gai. How could he do such a thing? Sure, he was an idiot, but this just put the icing on the cake.

She had never been so humiliated in her life! Sure, the village did their fare share of embarrassing her, but they never took her clothes off and had her parade around the village naked!

She growled as her hand curled into a fist.

"_I swear, when I get my hands on Gai, I'm going to make his life miserable!"_

"_Aww, cheer up, Mikomi" _Aerith said.

"_It could have been worse"_

"_Could have been worse?! My friends just saw me naked! How could it have been worse?!"_

"Kakashi got to see you naked, didn't he? You must be happy about that" Usagi said.

Mikomi's face went beat red.

She had forgotten that Kakashi was there when her towel came off.

She let out a high pitched scream that could be heard throughout the entire village.

"_Oh my god! Kakashi saw me naked! I can never face him again! Why do you do this to me God?!"_

She had anime tears running down her face.

"Fuck my life" she muttered.

"Oi! Idiot!"

She looked up to see Baktuo and Yugito walking towards her with Nanaki and Cat Sith.

Yugito waved at her best friend.

"Hey, Mikomi. Why do you look so down?"

She told them about what Naruto did to her and how everyone pretty much saw her naked.

Bakuto shivered at the thought.

"I'm glad I wasn't around when that happened. I would have turned to stone otherwise"

Yugtio glared at her boyfriend and punched him in the kidney.

"Don't be such a jerk, Bakuto! Gai just humiliated Mikomi!"

Bakuto fell to the floor, holding his side.

Yugito gave Mikomi a big hug.

"You poor thing. That was really mean of Naruto and Gai"

Mikomi just let her friend hug her.

Cat Sith jumped on Nanaki's head.

"Hey, Mikomi. Want to have your fortune told?"

Mikomi smiled at her feline friend. She heard that he used to be a fortune teller before the whole Sephiroth thing.

"Sure, why not?"

The cat did a little dance as he brought up his fortune. He pulled out a piece of paper from his hat and read it out loud.

"Clouds are not on your side today"

Mikomi raised an eyebrow.

"What the heck does that mean?"

The cat shrugged.

"I dunno. Cloud had some weird fortunes when I did it on him. Let me try again"

He did a little dance again and pulled out another piece of paper.

"Red and Black are not your lucky colors today"

Mikomi looked at her outfit. She always wore a red tube top and black Hakama pants.

"Well, I did get humiliated today because of my clothes, so that fortune is no good"

"Let me try again"

Cat Sith danced one more time and pulled out the card.

"You will encounter friends that you feel were better off dead"

Mikomi raised an eyebrow.

"Friends that I wish were better off dead?"

She looked at Bakuto, who had finally gotten up. He glared at Mikomi when he was looking at her.

"Oh, don't even go there. I don't consider you as a friend, so don't think I'm going to drop over any minute now"

Cat Sith's ears went down.

"This is so strange. My fortunes usually aren't this confusing. I wonder what it means."

Mikomi shrugged.

"Beats me. I don't see how clouds are dangerous and I'm always wearing red and black and nothing happens. As for the friends thing, I don't wish any of you were dead. I don't have any bad friends"

Her face suddenly went grim as she remembered something.

"Unless you count them" she mumbled to herself.

"Who are you talking about?" Nanaki asked.

Mikomi quickly shook it off and gave the animal a reassuring smile.

"Nothing, nothing. Don't worry about it"

She rubbed her head in embarrassment.

"So, when are you guys leaving for Gaia?"

"We'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. We're sorry we have to leave you like this. We'll make sure we finish up as fast as we can"

Mikomi waved him off.

"Don't rush this. Taking down Sephiroth will probably take you more than a few days. Just take your time. I'm not going anywhere"

Nanaki gave her a sad smile.

"Alright then. We'll all spend tomorrow with you before we leave. We can't say good-bye without being with you for a few days"

Mikomi smiled at him.

"Aww, thanks you guys"

Cat Sith let out a little cry as he jumped into her arms.

"I'm going to miss my sleeping buddy!" The little cat cried.

"I won't be able to sleep properly without you holding me!"

Mikomi rubbed his tiny head.

"There, there"

Cat Sith clung to her for a few minutes before jumping back onto Nanaki's head.

"Well, we better go see what the others are up to. We'll see back at the house"

Mikomi waved to them as they left.

When they were gone, her smile left.

She was sad that they were going, but had to remind herself that Konoha wasn't their home, it was Gaia. They had to return back eventually.

"_I just wish I could go with them. But then again, Gaia isn't my home, it's here"_

"_Cheer up, Mikomi. They want you to come with them as much as you do. Plus, I'll be here" _Aerith said.

"_You mean you're not going to be in Cloud's mind when they leave? I thought you would go with them?"_

"_Being dead means I can be in anyone's mind when I feel like it, plus I love your village. I'm not going to leave it, even if I'm dead. Plus I'm not going to leave my dearest friend alone!"_

Mikomi smiled at the Cetra's words. She wanted to stay with her, even when she had the opportunity to go back with her old friends.

"_Thanks Aeirth. That means a lot to me"_

"_No problem"_

Yugito placed her hand on her shoulder.

She and Bakuto heard about AVALANCHE heading back to their world. They felt bad that Mikomi would be left alone in that big house of hers. That's one of the reasons why they didn't want to return to their village, well, that was Yugito's reason.

She gave her best friend a soft smile.

"Hey, let's go get something to eat" she said.

Mikomi gave her a soft smile and nodded.

"Ok"

She followed them as they decided where they should eat.

They didn't even notice that the cloaked strangers were following them as they walked.

"MMM! Your village has the best tasting food ever!" Yugito cried.

They had bought a few dumplings from a street vendor and were walking around the village. Bakuto had finished his a while back and had the stick hanging out of his mouth in a lazy sort of manner. Mikomi was finishing her fourth one while Yugito was starting her fifth one. The two tailed Jinchuriki loved Konoha's dumplings and would buy some nearly every day.

"You really love those dumplings, don't you Yugito?"

The cloud Kunochi nodded as she swallowed.

"These are so much better than the ones we have at home. They don't have any flavor to them and there aren't a lot of selections to pick from"

Bakuto threw this stick out at a nearby trash can.

"I'll admit, your village has some pretty good food. Although they don't have any pizza places though"

"Well, since we're fixing up the village, why don't recommend that they build one?" Mikomi suggested.

She had to admit that he made some awesome pizza. She would always ask for some at least once a week if she was lucky.

Bakuto shrugged.

"I suppose I could"

They kept walking until they passed one of the bridges that separated the village. On one half, the regular citizens of the village lived and on the other was where all of the main buildings and the Hokage tower stood.

The water was crystal clear as Mikomi looked at it. She was amazed that this side of the village didn't get damaged.

Yugito sighed as she looked at the water. She wasn't really fond of the stuff, having a cat demon inside of her, but she thought it looked so pretty right about now.

Bakuto didn't say anything as he watched his girlfriend enjoy herself.

As Mikomi was looking at the water, she was three figures approaching her from the water's reflection.

She looked up to see them standing a few feet from her.

A gust of wind suddenly blew by and caused the bells on the stranger's hats to jingle.

As Mikomi looked at them closer, she noticed that they wore red and black cloaks with clouds on them.

Cat Sith's fortunes rang through her head.

_Red and Black are not your lucky color today._

_Clouds are not on your side today._

Could this be what her fortunes meant?

"Um, can I help you?" She asked uneasily.

Bakuto and Yugito looked at the strangers wearily.

The male without the sword stepped forward.

"It's been a long time…Mikomi"

Mikomi freaked out. How did this man know her name?

"Uh, do I know you?"

The female chuckled deeply as she went up to her male companion.

"What? You mean you don't remember us? I'm hurt, Mikomi" She said.

She tiled her hat up so her eyes would be visible, the ring she wore had the kanji symbol for reflection on it.

"I thought you would at least remember your best friends"

She took her hat off as did the male beside her.

Mikomi felt her heart stop as she stared at two familiar faces.

"No"

The female had long dark blonde hair that was cut in layer and wore her headband the same way as Sakura wore hers. The emblem of a rising sun was etched into it with a scratch across it.

She had bluish grey eyes that were staring at Mikomi coldly.

The male beside her had smoky black hair that was tied back and had the leaf village headband tied to his forehead.

He had the infamous Sharingan eyes that the Uchihas were known for.

Both of them were staring at Mikomi was dark expression on their faces.

Mikomi was trembling as she saw them. She never in a million years thought that she would see them again.

Yugito looked at Mikomi as she was shaking.

"Do you know these people, Mikomi?"

Mikomi didn't say anything as she looked at these newcomers.

She had never been more afraid to see someone than right about now.

"Itachi?...Yumi?" She said in a shaky voice.

Yumi smiled at her coldly.

"So you do recognize us, that's good"

Her voice was as smooth as silk.

"It's been quite some time since we last saw you" Itachi said.

"You grown quite a bit since then"

Mikomi took a step back from.

"Not as much as you two" she trembled.

Yumi smirked.

"Aww, you're scaring her, Itachi" she cooed.

Itachi just smirked as he ran his hand through his hair, revealing a similar ring on his finger like Yumi's only with the Kanji symbol for crimson.

Bakuto didn't know what was going on. He didn't know who these people were and why they were freaking out Mikomi?

He turned to his rival.

"Hey, idiot. What's going on?" he asked in a low voice so their guest wouldn't hear.

Mikomi didn't even look at him when she spoke.

"Run" she whispered urgently.

"Run and get Yuri!"

He just looked at her for moment.

"**You better do, Bakuto" **Taimat said.

"**These guys are bad news. You won't stand a chance against them on your own. You better get Yuri pronto before things get ugly"**

Bakuto scowled at his demons words.

He wasn't one to run from a fight. But telling from their chakra, these were not ordinary ninja.

He grabbed Yugito's arm.

"Come on. We need to get Yuri" He said.

They both ran off and left Mikomi behind with these strangers.

The man with the sword watched as Bakuto and Yugito left.

"Should I go after them?"

"Don't waste your time on those two" Itachi said.

"Our main objective is to capture the two nine tailed fox spirits"

"We're going to have our hands full with this one anyway" Yumi said.

"Is that so?"

The man pulled his hat off to reveal a blue shark like face.

"In that case, let's have some fun!"

Mikomi gulped and pulled her guns out from the back pockets.

She took them off of safety and aimed them at Itachi and Yumi.

"I'm not going down without a fight"

Yumi smirked darkly.

"How typical of you" she said.

Itachi pulled out a Kunai from the depths of his sleeves.

"Why don't we chat for a little bit? After all, it's nearly been 7 years since we last saw each other"

Mikomi glared at them and aimed her guns to their foreheads.

"Not interested"

Cloud put his Buster Sword away as he looked at the heap that was Gai.

He and Vincent had beaten the spandex ninja to the point where no one could recognize him.

Tifa gave her boyfriend a dull glare. She tried to stop him when he tried to perform Omnislash on him, but he wouldn't listen.

Yuri kicked Gai in the side to see if she could wake him up or to see if he was alive for that matter. The only response she got from him was a weak groan.

"I think you guys overdid it"

Vincent didn't say anything as he put Cerberus away.

"What are you talking about? We went easy on him" Cloud said.

"You call this easy?" Tifa said.

"You can't even recognize him! How is that being easy?"

"He would have been dead otherwise"

Tifa just sighed as she held the bridge of her nose.

"You've really lost it Cloud"

Cloud just shrugged.

"I didn't want to leave Mikomi on a bad note like this"

Out of everyone in the group, he felt the worst leaving Mikomi and Naruto behind. He didn't want to leave them alone, but he didn't want them involved with Sephiroth. It was a non win- win situation in this case.

"Lady Yuri!"

Yuri turned around to see Bakuto and Yugito running towards her frantically.

"What's up you guys?"

Yugito panted heavily as she regained her breath.

She looked desperate as she looked at the Medic.

"Something's wrong! Mikomi needs your help!"

Yuri's smile fell.

"What happened?"

"These strangers just came out of nowhere and claimed that they knew her" Bakuto said.

"She must have known about them since she said two of their names. They don't seem to be on the good side if you know what I mean"

"What were their names?" Yuri asked.

"Itachi and Yumi"

The color drained from Yuri's face, making the markings under her eyes stand out more.

"Itachi? That name sounds familiar" Tifa said.

"Isn't that the name of Sasuke's older brother?" Vincent asked.

Yuri didn't say anything and tore down the street. Her trench coat flapped into the wind as she pulled something from the depths of her jacket.

"Why are they here now?!" She asked herself frantically.

Yugito and Bakuto ran after them so they could show her where Mikomi was.

Tifa got a bad feeling about this and ran after them. She just had a feeling that Mikomi was in trouble and she needed help.

Cloud and Vincent were fast on her heels.

They leave Mikomi alone for a few minutes and she's already attracting trouble.

"Maybe leaving her isn't such a good idea" Vincent said.

Cloud didn't say anything as they ran.

Mikomi jumped out of the way as Yumi tried to land another hit on her.

She landed on the lake and kept herself on the surface by sending chakra to her feet.

She breathed heavily as she looked at Yumi and Itachi.

She never thought in a million years that she would see them ever again.

They were her best friends, or so she thought.

They had betrayed her by slaughtering the Uchiha clan and making her feel worthless.

Yumi looked emotionless as she saw Mikomi panting.

"What's the matter, Mikomi? Are you tired already? Please tell me that you haven't slacked off since we last saw you"

Mikomi glared at her.

"Shut up!"

She fired off her guns as her, sending lighting chakra to the bullets as they left the barrel.

Itachi got in front of Yumi and blocked each bullet with his kunai knife.

"You should know by know that your little toy won't work against us"

Mikomi growled and put her guns away.

She charged at them and summoned up her lighting whip.

"Lighting whip!"

She struck Yumi across the arm, but the kunochi just let it wrap around her arm.

She didn't seem fazed by the zaps that were sent through the whip.

"That's not going to work on me" She said.

She yanked it out of Mikomi's hand and let it dissolve away.

Mikomi looked surprised that she was able to grab her whip without being affected by it.

Yumi just brushed her bangs out of her face as she gave Mikomi a dull glare.

"It case you've forgotten, you're not the only one who has lighting chakra"

She made rapid handsigns and held her hand out in front of her.

Lighting began to gather into her palm as she sent chakra to it.

Mikomi paled when she saw Yumi hold a big ball of lighting.

Yumi smirked.

"I take it by the look on your face that you remember this jutsu?"

She admired her handy work.

"It's pretty isn't it? It's like holding a big ball of light in my hand. It may look beautiful, but…"

She suddenly appeared behind Mikomi.

"It can be quite deadly"

Mikomi whipped around in time to see Yumi ram the lighting sphere into her.

"Herutsu no Raiko!"

Mikomi dodged it at the last minute, but the sphere managed to graze her in the ribs.

She flinched in pain as electricity zapped through her body.

She jumped back onto the lake and held her side as she kept her distance from Yumi.

Yumi smirked as she saw Mikomi breathing heavily.

"Impressive, you were able to get away from it without getting a direct hit"

Itachi stood next to Yumi.

"Don't overdo it, Yumi. We need to keep her alive and in one piece"

Yumi looked at Itachi and gave him a peck on the cheek.

"Of course, Itachi. But you know how I get when I get into the zone"

Their fish partner stepped forward and drew out his sword.

"If you're done playing, Yumi. I want my turn"

Yumi nodded at her partner.

"Go ahead, she's all yours, Kisame"

"Just keep her in one piece though" Itachi reminded.

"Now where is the fun in that?" Kisame cackled.

Mikomi looked at the fish man wearily.

She was able to fight off Itachi and Yumi since she knew how they attacked, but she didn't know about their partner.

"_Judging from his looks, I would say that he's a water user"_

'Then you might want to get on dry land since you're standing on water" Usagi advised.

She went to jump back onto the bridge, but Kisame was one step ahead of her.

"Water Style: Water Shark Bombs!"

The water around her exploded and threw her back from the bridge.

She spit out the water that got into her mouth.

Kisame cackled as he watched his prey try to run from him.

"It was a bad idea to step into the water!" he said as he sent another barrage of water bombs.

"You're within my domain now!"

Mikomi kept dodging the blasts of water that were aimed for her.

She was soaked up to this point and was starting to freeze from the water.

Kisame just laughed as she kept running from him and tried to get back up on the bridge.

Kisame performed another set of handsigns.

"Water Style! Water Dragon Justu!"

A gaint dragon made out of water came up and roared to life.

As it charged at her, another water dragon appeared and crashed into the one that was aimed for Mikomi.

Everyone was surprised.

"What the?!" Kisame exclaimed.

"Now that's no way to treat a lady" Kakashi said.

He suddenly appeared next to Mikomi and had a Kunai in his hand.

"Three against one isn't fare. Let's even the odds shall we?"

Mikomi was speechless as she saw Kakashi.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Kakashi shrugged.

"I felt bad about what Gai did to you, so I wanted to see if you were ok"

He turned his head so he could see her.

"Besides, you didn't think I was about to let a bunch of bad guys get you, did you?"

Mikomi blushed.

She was still embarrassed about flashing Kakashi, but she reminded herself now wasn't the time to be embarrassed.

Itachi looked at Kakashi coldly.

"Kakashi Hatake. It's been a while"

Kakashi glared at Itachi and Yumi.

"Itachi Uchiha and Yumi Seiji. I never thought in a million years that I would see you two again, not after you slaughtered the Uchiha Clan"

Yumi brushed her hair out of her face.

"You shouldn't be surprised. People do get homesick from time to time. Even murderers like us"

Itachi stepped forward.

"If you would be so kind as to hand us over the fox Jinchuriki that you're protecting, we'll be on our way"

Kakashi pulled up his headband to reveal his Sharingan eye.

"Not a chance" he growled.

Itachi sighed and looked at Kisame.

"Kisame, back down. I'll handle this"

Kisame growled and put his sword back on his back.

"You and Yumi always have all the fun"

"You shouldn't take Kakashi lightly. He's a skilled Ninja" Yumi said.

"Not to mention that Mikomi has a few tricks up her sleeve" Itachi said.

"Leave her to me"

Mikomi whimpered when Itachi stepped on the water. She took a step back in fear. She had never been more afraid of someone than Itachi. He simply terrified her with that emotionless look of his. His Sharingan eyes were like portals to the gates of hell.

"Mikomi" Kakashi said to her.

"I want you to run from here as fast as you can. They're after you for some reason, so you need to get away. I'll distract them"

Mikomi panicked at that. She wasn't going to leave him alone with Itachi and Yumi.

"No! I can't leave you alone!"

Kakashi just smirked at her.

"I'll protect you with my life. Trust me"

Mikomi's face went red.

"Kakashi"

"Aww, how touching" Yumi said.

Itachi didn't say anything as he got closer.

Mikomi got into a fighting stance. She wasn't going to let Kakashi fight Itachi alone.

Itachi suddenly pulled out a hand full of shurikens from the depths of his cloak.

Kakashi launched his lighting blade attack at him, but was blocked by a wall of water.

He jumped back a few steps and analyzed the situation.

"_He must have performed that jutsu when I was distracted by the shuriken. He's gotten fast with his justu weaving"_

"I see you were able to analyze my attack" Itachi said.

"That's impressive, but…"

A clone of him appeared behind Mikomi.

"That won't stop me"

Mikomi whipped around to see the Itachi clone behind her. Seeing him up close made her even more afraid of him.

She flipped out of the way and skidded across the water as she landed on her feet.

She could feel her body shaking as she looked into Itachi's cold, emotionless eyes.

"_His eyes have changed. They aren't full of life as they once were"_

She gulped when she felt a lump in her throat.

Kakashi looked at the two Itachi's.

He didn't know which one to attack. If he went for the real Itachi, he would send his clone after Mikomi and if he attacked the cone, the real one would go after her and he would make his clone exploded. He was in a tight situation with this.

The Itachi clone started walking towards Mikomi. He knew that she wouldn't run since he had her pinned with his stare.

"Now you be a good little girl and come with me" He said.

"After that, we'll visit your brother"

That snapped Mikomi from his gaze. There was no way she was going to let these creeps get Naruto.

She quickly held her hand out and formed the Rasengan in her palm.

"I won't let you lay a finger on him!"

She charged at the clone and slammed the Rasengan into his chest.

The clone dissolved into water.

The real Itachi simply looked at her.

Mikomi glared at the real Itachi.

"You stay away from Naruto" she said.

He didn't say anything to her.

He looked at Yumi and nodded to her.

The blond was behind her in a matter of seconds and held her arms behind her in a vice grip.

Mikomi tried to pull away, but Yumi held her tightly.

"Don't even think about running" Yumi said.

"You're outnumbered by three to two. You'll never win against us"

Just then, an arrow flew out of nowhere and nicked Yumi in the face.

Blood ran down her cheek as she saw Yuri with Bakuto and the rest of the group that they saw before.

Yuri's blue eyes were as cold as ice as she glared at them.

She held a cross bow out in front of her.

She never used her cross bow unless for very strong enemies. The whole thing was made out of steel and it shot out metal arrows that were coated with poison.

This was Yuri's ultimate weapon.

Cloud drew out his Buster Sword while Vincent pulled out Cerberus.

They didn't know what was going on, but they didn't like it that Mikomi was being held hostage at the moment.

Bakuto's eyes landed on Kisame.

"Kisame Hoshigaki" he breathed.

Kisame looked at him and cackled when he realized who he was looking at.

"Well if it isn't Osore's brat. I didn't recognize you for a moment"

Bakuto's blood flared at the mention of that name.

"What do you know about Osore?!"

Kisame just laughed.

"Nothing really. Although, I did see him a while back. He hasn't changed much since I last saw him"

Bakuto growled.

"Where is he?"

"Not telling" the fish man said.

Bakuto charged at him, but Yuri held her free arm out to stop him.

"Keep it together. These are S-Rank criminals. They'll tear you up within seconds if you rush in like that"

Bakuto just gritted his teeth and stepped back.

Yugito placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Itachi and Yumi looked at their newcomers with emotionless stares.

Itachi bowed his head slightly to Yuri.

"It's been a while, Lady Yuri"

Yuri just sneered.

"Itachi and Yumi. I never imagined that I would be seeing you two again, and frankly, I wish I didn't"

Yumi let go of Mikomi and just let her run to Kakashi.

"We have no intention of fighting you, Lady Yuri. If you just hand us over the nine tails host, then we'll be on our way"

Yuri loaded another arrow to her crossbow.

"Sorry, but I'm not handing over Naruto or Mikomi to you creeps"

Itachi sighed in irritation.

"I didn't want it to come to this, but I'm afraid we'll have to take them by force then"

"How troublesome" Yumi added.

Yuri kept her eyes on them. Years of experience showed her that she should never take her eyes off the enemy, especially if one of her opponents wielded the Sharingan.

Cloud and Vincent were on standby with their weapons drawn while Tifa stayed put.

"Be on your guard with these two" Yuri said.

"And whatever you do, don't look into Itachi's eyes. It'll be the last thing that you'll ever do"

They both nodded.

Kakashi and Mikomi looked at their opponents.

Kisame was off to the side lines under Itachi's orders while he and Yumi were a few feet from them.

They were all looking at each other as if they were waiting for someone to make the next move.

Mikomi was foolish enough to be the one to attack first and charged at Itachi and Yumi.

They weren't fazed by it and simply counter attacked her moves.

Itachi launched off his fire ball justu while Yumi used Herutsu no Raiko on her.

She managed to dodge Yumi's attacks this time, but she got hit with Itachi's.

She figured that they were working together like this so she would fall to one of their attacks at least.

Kakashi used the water dragon Justu whenever Itachi used his fire ball jutsu so he could put out the fires.

Yuri had her crossbow pointed at them and waited for an opening to fire. If she shot them now, she would risk the chance of hitting Mikomi or Kakashi.

Vincent was under the same predicament as well since he couldn't fire of Cerberus at them.

Cloud gripped his Buster Sword tightly as he prepared to launch into the attack. He didn't want this to drag on long, knowing that Mikomi would reach her limit soon.

Mikomi skidded across the water and was back to back with Kakashi.

She panted from running away from Itachi and Yumi's attacks.

She was almost out of chakra, and she found it hard to stand on top of the water now.

Kakashi could see this as well and knew that this fight had to end soon.

Itachi slowly walked up to them.

"Why don't we end this little game of cat and mouse?" he said.

He had his eyes closed as he walked.

"Let me show you the true power of the Uchiha clan. Then maybe you will understand how hopeless it is to think about defeating me"

Yuri knew what he was about to do and panicked.

"Mikomi! Kakashi! Close your eyes!"

Kakashi was about to do so, but he saw that Mikomi was frozen with fear. She was caught in Itachi's gaze and she couldn't move her body, let alone close her eyes.

Mikomi was screaming in her head to move.

She didn't want to get caught in Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.

Itachi aimed his stare at Mikomi.

"I'll start with you" he said quietly.

Yuri panicked and aimed her crossbow at Itachi. She was about to pull the trigger, when Yumi suddenly appeared and grabbed her wrist.

"I wouldn't interfere if I were you" she said.

"After all, you wouldn't want to accidentally hit your precious goddaughter, now do you?"

Yuri growled and yanked her arm out of her grip.

"What are you guys up to?" she glared.

Yumi wasn't fazed.

"We seek the legacies of the Fourth Hokage. We want to search for the answers to life and Mikomi and Naruto are the keys to our answers"

Yuri just gave her a disgusted look.

"What a load of crap" she spat.

"Believe what you will, but we need them in order to fulfill our goals"

She looked back at Itachi to see him about to put Mikomi under his Mangekyo Sharingan.

Mikomi helplessly watched as Itachi slowly opened his eyes.

She knew that any second now, she would be trapped within Itachi's Mangekyo realm and be tortured for 72 hours when only a second had gone by.

It made her wish that she studied more of the Genjutsu arts so she wouldn't be stuck in this mess.

"Feel the power of a true Sharingan heir" Itachi said.

The air rushed out of her lungs as she felt herself getting hit by full force.

It wasn't the feeling of getting trapped within a Genjutsu realm, but rather someone shoving her out of the way.

It was like watching everything in slow motion.

As Itachi fully opened his eyes, Kakashi ran up to her and shoved her out of the way before she could make full eye contact with the Uchiha.

She landed on her butt while she kept herself up with chakra.

When she saw Kakashi, he was already caught in Itachi's genjutsu.

After that, everything speeded up to normal time.

She saw Kakashi stand his ground for a second, then he let out a strangled scream and fell to his knees.

"Kakashi!"

She ran up to him and held him so he wouldn't fall into the water.

The scarecrow was breathing heavily as he tried to regain himself from that horrid realm. His eyes were dull and tired looking as if he hadn't slept for 3 days.

"Kakashi" she repeated.

Kakashi looked at her tiredly as he panted.

"Run…Mikomi" he panted.

Mikomi willed herself not to cry. She wasn't going to break down in front of the man of her dreams.

"Why did you do that?" she asked softly.

"Why did you push me out of the way?"

Kakashi gave her a tired smile.

"Silly" he said.

"I'm always going to look after my teammate. I'm not going to let a bunch of thugs beat up a poor defenseless girl like you"

He slouched into her arms.

"That really took a lot out of me. I didn't expect Itachi's Sharingan to be that powerful"

He blacked out and had his face land onto Mikomi's chest. She would have blushed if they weren't in a serious situation.

She looked at her friends that were standing on the bridge, waiting to attack.

"Vincent!"

The silent gunman appeared to her in seconds and stood in front of her protectively against Itachi.

She carefully handed Kakashi to her vampire friend.

"Can you get Kakashi out of here?"

He nodded and threw Kakashi over his shoulder.

When Itachi when to take a step forward, Vincent had Cerberus out and pointed it at him.

"Not another step" he said in a deep voice.

Since he was the genjustu expert in their group, he didn't have to worry about falling into Itachi's realm. He kept eye contact with him and studied his every movement in case he tried to attack.

Kisame got antsy and jumped into the fray.

"That's it! I want to cut something up!"

Mikomi glared at the shark man and ran up to him.

She charged up a chakra filled fist and prepared herself to land a solid punch to the fish face.

Kisame didn't do anything. He just stood still as Mikomi ran up to him.

When she saw him smirking, she realized that she was falling into a trap and tried to pull back. That proved to be pointless, since she slid across the water and landed smack dabbed right in front of the shark man.

He gave her a large, blood thirsty grin as he pulled out his sword.

Instead of punching him, Mikomi threw her arms up to block the sword. She could tell that it was a heavy sword by the size of it, but since it was wrapped up, she figured it couldn't do much damage to her.

Kisame slammed his sword onto her arms and smirked when he made contact.

"What are you smirking about?" Mikomi asked.

"You can't cut me with that sword of yours all wrapped up"

"Cut you?" Kisame asked.

"My sword doesn't cut"

He yanked back and pulled his sword across her body. The wrapping came off to reveal a shark skinned sword that had sharp edges.

"It rips you to shreds!"

Blood splattered the sky as Kisame ripped Mikomi's whole right side open. The skin on the right side of her body was ripped right off of her and left her in a bloody mess. He even managed to get her in the face and left a deep gash across from the left side of her forehead to the right side of her chin.

She let out a wailing scream as pain flared up through her body.

Kisame cackled and grabbed her by the throat when she went to fall forward.

He lifted her into the air and had her dangling like a rag doll.

Tifa let out a horrified gasp as she saw her best friend being ripped apart and being held up by the throat.

Cloud snapped when he saw the blood spilling across the sky and when she let out that painful scream.

He was seeing red when he saw Kisame cackling while he shook Mikomi as he held her.

"Mikomi!" Yuri screamed.

Yumi scowled.

"Kisame, you weren't suppose to damage her"

"I can't help it if she charged at me. She should have known better than to fight me head on like that. This is her punishment"

Mikomi whimpered when Kisame held her throat tighter. Her mind was in a fog from all of the pain and lack of oxygen that she was going through.

That did it for Yuri and she aimed her crossbow at him.

Kisame caught on and smirked.

"Go ahead. Shoot me"

He held Mikomi in front of him like a human shield.

"I'll just use this little shield that I made"

Cloud flew into action and went flying.

He had his Buster Sword out in front of him as he ran at them.

"Vincent!"

The Ex-Turk fired off Cerberus and shot Kisame in the hand.

That caused him to let go of Mikomi so she wouldn't get hit by Cloud's attack.

Tifa went flying and caught Mikomi before she could sink into the water.

"Mikomi, are you ok?"

Mikomi tried to blink the blood out of her eyes. It was a miracle that she was still conscience.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she said in a weak voice.

Tifa quickly ran away from Cloud and Kisame. She didn't want to get caught up with what was about to happen and she needed Yuri to heal Mikomi pronto.

Cloud launched his attack when the females were out of the way.

Since Vincent shot Kisame in the hand, he managed to get him to let go of his sword. That was the perfect opening for him to pull of his greatest move.

He kicked him up in the air and swung his sword around before launching his latest version of Omnislash.

His swords surrounded Kisame like a cage and trapped him within Cloud's attack.

The blond was nothing but a blur as he grabbed his swords and slashed Kisame thousands of times before he slammed the shark man to the ground.

Kisame fell on the bridge in a bloody heap.

The shark man cursed loudly as he called his sword back to him.

He didn't know what kind of move that was, but it completely caught him off guard.

He was going to rip that blond to shreds!

"I'm going to kill you!"

"Stop, Kisame" Itachi said.

The shark man stopped and looked at his partner.

"We didn't come here to fight. We only wanted to capture the nine tailed fox spirits"

"We weren't supposed to cause a commotion, but thanks to you, they're probably sending the Anbu Black Ops. We can't be noticed" Yumi added.

"We're falling back"

Kisame cursed, but put his sword away.

Itachi looked at Yuri and the others.

"Consider yourselves lucky today"

His eyes landed on Mikomi's.

"We'll be back for you. Just you wait"

"In the mean time, try to become stronger" Yumi added.

They all disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

When they left, Yuri checked on Kakashi and Mikomi.

The scarecrow was put into a coma from Itachi's attack and she didn't have the skills to wake him up.

As for Mikomi, her injuries were starting to heal slowly.

She seemed to be in a daze like state as Yuri dressed her wounds.

Her mind was wrapped around the two faces that she had saw moments before.

"Mikomi?" Tifa asked.

She didn't answer her.

The only thing that was on her mind right now was the memories she had of the two people that she once considered friends.

**A/N: Holy crap! This has got to be the longest chapter that I've written for this story so far! (Wipes forehead) Hopefully this was a good chapter. I hoped you liked it Yumi and thanks for all of the help! Did I keep Yumi in character for you?**

**Remember to review!**


	51. Decisions

Chapter 51: Decisions

**A/N: Hey everyone! I know it's been a while, but I had to study for finals and I was working on my Kingdom Hearts fanfic. But now I'm back and we can get on with the story. **

**It seems that now everyone has to decide whether or not they should continue with their plans to go back to Gaia. Will they leave Mikomi behind after she had been pretty much mauled to death? You'll just have to find out.**

**Also, here's a poll for you to vote on if you feel like it: Which OC do you think is the funniest so far?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own, Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou and Yumi Seiji owns Yumi.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

**Enjoy!**

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Mikomi was still in a zombie like state when they went home. Yuri carried her all the way there so her injuries wouldn't open up. The whole right side of her body was wrapped up in bandages and part of her face was covered up as well. Yuri thought that she would be healed by now with Usagi's help, but she figured it had something to do with Kisame's sword. He was one of the seven swordsmen of the mist, and they were known to have very strange swords.

Vincent opened the front door for them when they got to the house.

Yuri carefully placed her goddaughter on the couch and propped her up. She thought it would be a bad idea to lay her down when the whole right side of her body was ripped up. Her skin was still healing and was sensitive right now.

Mikomi seemed to zone out as she was placed on the couch. She still couldn't get over the fact that Itachi and Yumi were here. Not only that, but they were trying to capture her. It had been years since she had saw them and she wished that she hadn't seen them now. They were her only friends when she became a Jinchuriki and they betrayed her by killing off the Uchiha clan. She felt so guilty for Sasuke, that she kept an eye on him after that incident. She didn't want him to suffer the same loneliness that Naruto felt on a daily basis.

Tifa sat on the coffee table in front of her and examined her. It scared the hell out of her when she saw her best friend being butchered like that. It reminded her of when Aerith died. Just thinking about her death reminded her that they had to go back to Gaia so they could defeat Sephiroth. She really didn't want to leave Mikomi like this, but it had to be done. If they didn't stop him, then who knows what he would do.

Cloud and Vincent were pretty much in the same predicament. After seeing that Mikomi was being targeted by criminals, they didn't know if they should just take her with or not.

Yugito sat next to Mikomi and let her lean on her a tiny bit. She felt horrible that her closest friend had to endure all of that while she and Bakuto ran for it. Sure, Mikomi told them to run, but they should have stayed behind so she wouldn't have to fight those guys by herself.

Bakuto was still fuming over seeing Kisame. It had been years since he had seen him. He didn't realize that he was still alive. He thought that he was killed by the Mizukage or something. He spared a glance at Mikomi and suddenly felt guilty that she got hurt by that shark man. If he had kept his cool, then he could have fought him off. Now he felt obligated to be nice to his rival.

Yuri took out a bottle of blood clotting medicine and handed it to Mikomi.

"Here, honey. Drink this up, you lost a lot of blood from that attack"

Mikomi slowly took it from her. Her right hand shook as she placed the bottle to her lips. She downed the nasty substance and made a face.

"Why must your medicine taste bad?" She asked.

Yuri shrugged.

"Don't know. I tried adding booze to it before so it would taste better, but I ended up drinking the stuff just to get a buzz"

Cloud rolled his eyes at her.

Of course Yuri would drink laced medicine to get drunk. She was nuts when it came to alcohol. They all thought that she was an alcoholic at first, but they learned that she only drank on special occasions. Still, it wasn't pretty to see her drunk.

Yuri took the bottle from her goddaughter and looked at her carefully. She wanted to make sure that her wounds didn't open up.

"How are feeling, sweetie?"

Mikomi gave her a weak glare.

"I just got skinned alive by a talking shark, how do you think I feel?"

Yuri laughed nervously and rubbed her head.

"Right, right. Bad question"

She brushed the hair out of Mikomi's face.

"But other than that, how are you doing with the whole Itachi and Yumi thing?"

Mikomi's emerald eyes turned red at the mention of those names.

"I was better off not seeing them. I wish they were dead!"

She slammed her healed hand on the arm of the sofa.

"Why did they have to come back? I was better off without them"

Tifa nervously looked at Yuri.

"Um, who were those guys anyway?" she asked.

"From what I saw, they seemed to know Mikomi"

Yuri sighed deeply and ran her hand through her white hair.

She had a feeling that she would have to explain this eventually.

"Itachi Uchiha and Yumi Seiji used to live in the Hidden Leaf Village a long time ago" Yuri began.

"As you can tell, Itachi was part of the Uchiha clan, and was Sasuke's older brother"

"I thought he looked familiar, so that's why" Vincent said.

Yuri nodded.

"He was considered to be the prodigy of his clan. He was a true master of the Sharingan and a gifted ninja. Yumi Seiji was a ninja who came from the Hidden Dawn Village. Her parents died on a mission and she somehow ended up here. She's Itachi's boyfriend. They used to be really close friends with Mikomi before and after she became a Jinchuriki. They were really close, but that all changed the day that they massacred the Uchiha Clan. They not only betrayed the village, but they betrayed her as well"

Mikomi clenched her fist as she heard the story. It made her feel sick that Itachi and Yumi were pretending to be her friends when in actuality, they were just using her.

"_They're no better than the rest of the villagers!"_

"Why would they want to see her after all this time?" Cloud asked.

Yuri shook her head.

"I have no idea"

Just then, the front door opened to reveal the rest of the group, including Myou and Tohru.

Yuffie and Cid had a few smudges on their faces from beating up those two guys that poured paint on Naruto and Mikomi.

Myou and Tohru were the same, but they weren't as dirty.

"Those punks sure did learn a lesson" Yuffie said.

"Yep, they won't be picking on Mikomi or Naruto for quite some time now" Cid said.

"I still think we should have buried them out in the woods" Myou suggested.

"We didn't kill them, Lieutenant Myou. We just knocked them out" Tohru corrected.

"Well, I think we should have killed them for what they did to Captain"

"You have a very violent mind for a Hyuga" Red Xlll said.

"I can't help it if the village makes me mad. They should know just how much my Captain does for her village. They should pay her more respect"

"I like the way Myou thinks" Yuffie said.

"I hate it when they're picking on my-"

She gasped when she saw Mikomi.

"Komi-chan! What happened to you?"

Everyone ran inside and gathered around Mikomi.

"Who the hell did this to you?" Barret bellowed.

"Was it one of those damn villagers?" Cid asked.

"Are you ok?"

"Are you in pain?"

They kept bombarding her with questions.

Tifa pushed them out of the way so she could have room to breathe.

"None of the villagers did this to her" Yuri said.

"She was attacked"

"Attacked?" Yuffie squealed.

"By who?"

Yuri told them about what had happened and told them about Itachi and Yumi.

Myou and Tohru looked horrified after they heard this. They knew about their Captain's past with Itachi and Yumi and they knew it was a sensitive subject to talk about.

Yuffie looked at Mikomi's arm.

"What did that guy do to you?"

Mikomi just looked at her arm dully. Her mind was elsewhere at the moment, so what she did next was pretty crazy on her part.

She ripped the bandages off her entire arm and revealed the extent of her injuries.

Usagi wasn't able to heal her injuries yet, so her arm was still missing some flesh.

"Good god!" Cid cried.

"What the hell did they do to you?"

"That Kisame guys had a sword made out of shark skin" Yuri said.

"He ripped the skin right off of her body with it"

Myou resisted the urge to puke. The sight was too much for her.

Tohru covered his mouth with his hand. He almost felt like puking as well.

"Good gracious" Cat Sith said.

Yuffie couldn't help herself and just threw her arms around Mikomi.

"Oh, 'Komi-chan!"

She was on her right side, so when she went to hug her, she rubbed herself against her arm. Pain flared up her body as her exposed arm made contact with Yuffie.

She let out a little yelp when the Wutai ninja pulled her into a bear hug.

Barret yanked her back.

"Damn it, Yuffie. You hit her injured arm"

Yuffie squealed.

"I'm sorry, 'Komi-chan! I didn't mean it!"

The brief contact made her injures open up again and had blood run down her arm.

"Not again" Yuri sighed.

"Can't you just heal her arm with chakra?" Red Xlll asked.

"I tried, but for some reason, my chakra won't react to her injuries. Heck, Usagi hasn't healed her and she normally does"

"It's because of Kisame's sword" Bakuto said.

"His sword not only shreds his opponents to ribbons, but it also eats chakra. She can't heal herself because her chakra was sealed up and taken away"

Mikomi looked at his rival.

"You seem to know a lot about this fish face" She said.

"Care to explain why?"

Bakuto glared at her.

"Mind your own damn business"

Mikomi just glared back at him.

"Alright, enough bickering you two" Yuri said.

She pull put more bandages from her trench coat and took Mikomi's arm.

The couch was pretty much ruined with the blood staining it, but she didn't care. She could always replace it with the discounts she got with her missions.

She grimaced when the blood seeped through the bandages. It seemed her blood clotting medicine wasn't working either.

She turned to Tohru.

"Could you get Shoka here? I know she's an expert when I comes to medicine and remedies for blood clotting"

Tohru nodded urgently.

"She's also good when it comes to creating elixirs for skin regeneration. I'll go see if she can bring that with also"

"Good, and while you're at it, track down Jiraiya. I have a few questions to ask my lovely cousin"

Myou shot up from her seat.

"I'll do it!"

The two Anbu ninjas ran out of the house to track down their targets.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

While they were gone, Yuri sent healing charka to Mikomi's arm.

"This may not heal your arm, but at least it's stopping the bleeding" she said.

Mikomi just sighed and pulled the bandages off of her face. She was lucky that her eye wasn't ripped out when Kisame cut her face. It wasn't as bad as the rest of her body, but it still looked bad.

"Why does everything bad always have to happen to me?" she asked.

"Is it because I'm a Jinchuriki?"

"That's not it, honey" Yuri said.

"You just tend to attract danger more than other people do. It has nothing to do with you being a Jinchuriki"

Mikomi just sighed sadly and ran her hand through her hair.

She felt like life hated her right about now.

Her friends were going to head back to their world and leave her alone. Her so called friends had shown up to kidnap her. Not to mention she was almost cut up by that fish man.

"_Fuck my life" _she thought.

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Myou and Tohru came back a few minutes later.

Tohru ran with Shoka in tow while Myou had to drag Jiraiya into the house.

Shoka looked flabbergasted that her boyfriend brought her to his captain's house. It wasn't that she didn't like Mikomi, she actually enjoyed being by her. It was just the fact that Tohru suddenly pulled out of the hospital while she was busy healing people up.

Jiraiya looked a little ticked off that he was dragged here. He was busy chatting with this cute girl when suddenly, his goddaughter's Lieutenant dragged him away.

"What the hell is going on here? Why did you pull me away from that hot-"

He stopped when he saw Mikomi.

"Oh my god"

Shoka's eyes bugged out.

"Holy shit!"

She ran up to her and examined her.

"What the hell happened to you? Did one of the villagers do this? If they did, I swear I'll give them a morphine overdose!"

Mikomi just waved her off.

"None of the villagers did this to me. Relax, Shoka"

"Relax? You look like you were butchered alive, and you want me to relax?"

Jiraiya went up to her and carefully held her face.

"Who did this to you?" he asked.

"Itachi and Yumi were here in the village" Yuri said.

"Care to explain why?"

Jiraiya flinched at that.

"So they came, huh?"

He sighed.

"I should have known"

"Do you know why they were here?" Yuri asked.

The toad sage nodded.

"Why?"

Jiraiya's expression turned grim as he looked at the floor.

"Let's just say that they're part of an organization" he said.

Yuri raised an eyebrow.

"Organization?"

"Yep. I don't really have a lot of details, but it seems to be a small syndicate of ten shinobi that calls itself the Akatuski. At first they stuck to small-scale stuff, nothing dramatic. But you knew something big was coming…considering who they are"

He rubbed the back of his head.

"Almost all of them are listed in the bingo book…as S-class criminals. Itachi and Yumi are among them"

Mikomi flinched at those names.

"When ten shinobi like that get together, it's not because they want to do charity work. You see where this is going?"

Yuri bit her lip.

"Recently, the group started splitting up. They've been searching for new jutsu…among other things"

Yuri's face went grim. She knew where this was going.

"Any proof that one item on their shopping list has nine tails?" she asked.

Jiraiya nodded.

"It's a distinct possibility" he said.

"It makes sense. The nine-tailed fox does have one of the highest levels of chakra. Usagi is no different. She's a guardian demon and her chakra level rivals with that of the fox"

Mikomi resisted the urge to gulp.

So they were after her because she had Usagi sealed up inside of her?

This just made her life from bad to suck. She never got any slack.

It just hit her that they were after the nine-tailed fox…Naruto's nine tailed fox.

She looked at Jiraiya wearily.

"What do they want with me?" she asked uneasily.

Jiraiya looked at her.

"They don't want you, they want what sleeps inside you"

He pointed to the seal that kept Usagi inside her.

"Usagi is a tailed beast, a creature that is a gold mine full of charka. People would do anything to get their hands on that kind of power."

He turned to his cousin.

"That also reminds me. From now on, I'll be taking care of Naruto"

Yuri glared at him.

"What do you mean take care of him? You mean like acting like the godfather that you never were? Sorry, but I'd rather die than hand him over to you"

"Not like that" he said defensively.

"And besides, did you really think I left you to take care of Mikomi and Naruto by yourself so I could write my books? I spent that time learning about the Akatuski. I heard that someone was after my godchildren's life and I went to find out who they were. I'm not that heartless that I would leave all that responsibility to you just because I didn't want to take care of them"

Yuri just kept glaring at him.

"I had to spend thirteen years of my life watching my godchildren suffer. Thirteen long, aching years of seeing them being bullied and humiliated by everyone in this god damn village! They didn't have anyone else to turn to but me! I had to watch as they were treated as beasts when they should have been treated like heroes! I did that all by myself and you had the balls to lie to me, saying that you were off to write your stupid books! I should kill you for this!"

She stood up and went to the hall closest.

"I'm going to go full Yankee on you. I know my katana is in here somewhere. I bet it still has your blood on it from when the last time I beat you with this"

Jiraiya quickly stood up when he saw his cousin pull out her weapon that she used back when she was a Yankee.

"Now, now Yuri. Just hear me out before you do anything. You can beat me up afterwards, I promise"

Yuri glared at him, but agreed.

She sat back in her seat with her katana in her lap.

"As I was saying, I meant I'll be training Naruto from now on. The Third Hokage was wise to have Kakashi as his teacher, but he won't be enough to help him. Sooner or later, he's going to have to deal with who and what he really is. That's his destiny. I'll leave Mikomi's training to you and you leave Naruto's training to me"

He looked at his goddaughter.

"You may be strong, but you're not nearly as strong enough to face those guys. Just look at yourself now, you're lucky to be alive, let alone still in the village. There won't be a second chance when they come back again"

Mikomi looked at the ground.

This was all too much for her. She had to live her life in fear now that there were bad guys after her? This wasn't fare.

"Oh, also, I'll be taking Naruto with me on a little trip. The village elders are itching for a new Hokage, and I'm going to our Fifth one"

"Who is it?"

"Tsunade"

Yuri busted out laughing. Tsunade was one of the legendary like Jiraiya, Orochimaru and herself. She was known to be quite a gambler and a heavy drinker like Yuri.

"Good luck finding her. She's probably using an ageing Jutsu to change her appearance to get away from the debts she has to pay back from her gambling"

"I'll find her, I have my ways"

"But why do you need Naruto?" Mikomi asked.

"I'm going to train him of course. I'll also keep an eye on him so Itachi and Yumi don't get to him. He'll be safe with me"

First her friends were leaving her, now her brother?

She suddenly stood up, with much struggle.

"I'll be in my room" She said.

She went to take step forward, but her injured leg protested.

Myou and Tohru quickly went to her and put her arms around their shoulders.

"We'll take you to your room, Captain" Myou said.

"Just take it easy"

Shoka stood up and pulled out a bottle of one of her elixirs.

"I'll give this to you too. This will help your skin grow back at a fast rate"

They went upstairs and left everyone else behind.

Yugito sighed.

"Now what do we do?"

Yuri looked at them

"Considering that you're Jinchuriki as well, the Akatsuki will be after you, it would be best if you stayed here"

Yuffie sighed sadly.

"Poor, 'Komi-chan"

Myou, Tohru and Shoka came back down a few minutes later.

"Lady Yuri, is it ok if we spend the night here?" Myou asked.

"We heard about her friends leaving tomorrow, so we don't want her to be alone" Tohru said.

"And I want to make sure my medicine works" Shoka added.

Yuri smirked at them.

"Sure, I don't see why not. I'm sure Mikomi would be glad that you guys-"

"I'm not leaving" Tifa suddenly said.

Everyone looked at her when she stood up.

"I'm not leaving Mikomi alone with those creeps after her!"

"But what about Sephiroth?" Cid asked.

"He killed your dad, remember"

"Screw Sephiroth! Mikomi is more important to me. You saw what those creeps did to her. They butchered her up alive! They nearly killed her! I lost one friend, I'm not loosing another to a bunch of bad guys"

She went to the stairs and looked at them when she was about to go up.

"You guys can go, but I'm staying. I don't want to leave her alone. She's had enough of that to last her a life time"

She went upstairs and closed the door to her room.

Yuri looked at the rest nervously.

"Well…that was awkward. But I'm sure that won't hinder your plans"

Vincent stood up.

"I'm staying as well. Tifa won't be able to protect her by herself. Besides, I don't have a grudge against Sephiroth, just his father"

He left to retire to his room.

"I'm not leaving my ninja buddy!" Yuffie cried.

She ran upstairs as well.

"I can't sleep without my sleeping buddy!" Cat Sith declared.

"Nor can I" Red Xlll added.

They ran up to Mikomi's room so they could sleep properly.

"I can't leave Mikomi and Naruto alone like this" Barret said.

"They're practically my own children. Nobody messes with papa bears cubs"

He went to his room and slammed the door.

Cid put out his cigarette in the ash tray that was on the coffee table.

"Looks like I got beat up a couple more punks" he said.

"My job is never done"

"You're staying too?" Yuri asked.

"Hell yeah, I'm staying. You think I would leave Mikomi after she was humiliated by the villagers? No way, I'm going to stay here and kick some asses"

He looked at Cloud. The chocobo head didn't say anything during this whole thing. He saw torn up over whether he should stay here and protect Mikomi and Naruto, or go back to Gaia and defeat Sephiroth. He didn't know what to do.

"We wouldn't blame you if you went" Cid said.

"We know you have a deep grudge against him. It would be ok if you went. Nobody would be made. We can stay here and watch over Mikomi while you finish Sephiroth off. It's up to you to decide"

He went back upstairs for the day.

Yugito stood up.

"Bakuto and I will go to bed now. See you in the morning"

The two Jinchuriki hosts went upstairs.

"We'll head for bed too" Myou added.

Everyone went upstairs, leaving only Yuri, Jiraiya and Cloud downstairs.

"What are you going to do, Cloud?" Yuri asked.

The blond didn't say anything. He was just looking into space.

"I…"

Yuri patted his shoulder.

"Why don't you just go to sleep and think over it. You don't have to give us an answer right this minute"

He nodded and went upstairs.

Yuri sighed when he left.

"Well, at least her friends care about her. They just gave up the biggest chance to finish off their enemy"

"Mikomi is lucky to have friends like them" Jiraiya said.

"Hey Jiraiya. Do you think the Akatsuki know…about Mikomi's special talent?"

"You mean her kekkei genkai?"

The medic nodded.

"Not sure, but if Itachi and Yumi are in that group, then they're bound to know"

Yuri sighed deeply.

"What do we do? That kind of powers can't fall into the wrong hands"

"I'll make sure nothing happens. I'll protect her" Jiraiya said.

"I have to make up for the past thirteen years that I've missed in her life"

Yuri smirked.

"You got that right. Which reminds me"

She pulled out her katana.

"It's payback time for all of those years you've missed!"

Jiraiya jumped out of his seat and backed away from her.

"Now, Yuri. I told you the reason why I left. I wanted to protect Mikomi and Naruto"

That didn't faze Yuri as she closed in on him.

He let out a girly scream and ran out of the house.

"Get back here!"

She chased him around the house and swung her katana around.

Let's just say, when she got him, he didn't look pretty.

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

**A/N: Poor Mikomi, the Akatsuki are after her. But at least AVALANCHE decided to stay with her instead of chasing Sephiroth. They really do care about her. But will Cloud stay? We'll just have to find out in the next chapter.**

**Remember to review. **

**And don't forget to answer my poll!**

**Ja ne!**


	52. Where do we go from here?

Chapter 52: Where do we go from here?

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't been updating this story for a while, I got caught up with my Kingdom Hearts story and I had a MAJOR writers block.**

**I'm also working on a Hellsing Fanfic, so all you Hellsing fans keep an eye out!**

**Now we find out if Cloud will stay or not, although, I'm sure we all know what he's decided on.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I do own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns Bakuto, Taimat and Myou and Yumi Seiji owns Yumi.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!**

/

Mikomi didn't get much sleep that night. She wasn't only suffering from excruciating pain from Kisame's attack, but she was also having a horrid dream. She recalled the last time that she spent with Itachi and Yumi before they killed the Uchiha Clan.

/

_Mikomi had just finished an ANBU mission with her two closest friends. _

_Itachi and Yumi pulled off their masks and looked at Mikomi._

"_Wow, Mikomi. You actually finished a mission without getting seriously hurt, I'm impressed" Yumi said._

_Mikomi just huffed and pulled her mask off._

"_I don't always get hurt, you know" she said._

"_I'm know to be very graceful on my missions" _

_Itachi snorted._

"_Please. You are probably the most clumsiest ninja in the village. True, you're strong and talented, but you're also really clumsy"_

_Mikomi just pouted._

"_What you see in him, Yumi is beyond me"_

_Yumi just giggled and patted her on the head._

"_Aww, cheer up, Mikomi. When you get yourself a boyfriend, you'll understand"_

_Mikomi scoffed at that._

"_Yeah, like that will ever happen" She said darkly._

"_In case you haven't forgotten, I'm a Jinchuriki and guys don't find that attractive"_

_Yumi gave her a sympathetic look and hugged her._

"_Trust me. You'll find someone who is crazy about you and loves you dearly" She said._

_She smirked suddenly._

"_Besides, Kakashi is always blushing when you're around. I think he likes you"_

_Mikomi blushed at that._

"_H-he's just a friend! We're old teammates, so he only sees me as a sister figure"_

_Yumi had an all knowing smirk._

"_Fine, say what you will"_

_They walked from the ANBU barracks and walked through the village._

_Mikomi looked at Itachi when she remembered something._

"_Hey, Itachi. You're birthday is coming up soon" She said._

"_Do you want to do something special with us?"_

_Itachi had a small smirk spread across his face._

"_It's nothing special, Mikomi. It's just another day"_

_Mikomi got into his face and wagged a finger at him._

"_No it isn't! A birthday is a special day because that was when you were born! We need to celebrate known that our dearest friend was born on a certain day. We want to show how much we love you"_

_Itachi smiled kindly at her._

"_Thanks, Mikomi"_

_They continued walking until they reached the Uchiha compound._

"_Well, this is where I say my goodbyes" Mikomi said._

_She each gave them a hug._

"_I have a mission that I need to do all week, so we'll make plans for celebrating when I get back, ok?"_

_They both nodded._

"_We'll have lots of fun planning it" Yumi said._

"_Just come back safely"_

"_Don't worry, I will"_

_She waved goodbye as she walked off._

_She never saw the grim and serious looks that were on Itachi and Yumi's faces._

/

She woke with a start. It seemed like ages since she remembered that day. After she left them to go on her mission, they brutally slaughtered the entire Uchiha clan, save for Sasuke.

She never understood why they did it. According to Sarutobi, they wanted to prove their strength. She thought that had to be the stupidest and most selfish reason for them to do that.

She never expected them to pull something off like that. They never showed a violent side towards the clan. Sure, Itachi didn't have a really good relationship with his parents, but she didn't think he would go so far as to kill them.

"_Then again, he always did like to hide what he was feeling" _she thought.

"_I could never read him at times"_

She painfully sat up in her bed. It was very hard to do since the whole right side of her body was bandaged up and her body flared with pain whenever she tried to move it.

She rubbed the sleep from her eyes with her left hand instead of her right.

Touching the right side of her face, she was glad that her skin healed up nicely and didn't leave any scars.

"_I got to admit, Shoka makes pretty amazing elixirs. I should give Tohru a raise for having such an awesome girlfriend"_

She yawned and stretched when she felt movement at the foot of her bed.

"Huh?"

Looking at the foot of her bed, she saw Nanaki fast asleep and took the whole bottom half of the bed.

"What the? I thought he would be getting ready to leave for Gaia?" she said to herself.

She felt something wrap around her waist and looked to see Cat Sith snuggling up to her.

"Just one more order of shrimp ramen, if you please" he slurred in his sleep.

Now Mikomi was beyond confused.

Why were they here when they should be heading back to Gaia? Did they over sleep by some chance?

She gently shook them awake.

"Hey, guys. Wake up"

They both slowly opened their eyes and looked at her.

"Morning, Mikomi" Nanaki said.

He yawned and shook his head a little in a dog manner.

Cat Sith stretched and flopped back on the pillow that he was sleeping on.

"How did you sleep?" he asked.

"Fine, but why are you guys here? Shouldn't you be heading back to Gaia?"

Cat Sith rolled over on the pillow.

"No. Red and I decided to stay here"

Mikomi blinked.

"Huh?"

"We don't really have a grudge against Sephiroth" Nanaki said.

"True, he tried to destroy the world and killed Aerith, but he didn't do anything to us personally"

Mikomi glared.

"That's mean! Aerith was a good friend to you guys! If it were me, I would go back and kick that guys sorry ass. You're both probably still talking in your sleep"

She got up from her bed and staggered to her feet.

"I'm sure once you both wake up, you'll both come back to your senses. But hurry up, I'm sure the others are waiting for you"

She limped out of her bedroom and headed for downstairs, not even realizing that her furry friends went back to sleep.

/

She could smell food being cooked as she slowly went down the stairs. She had the cling onto the railing to prevent herself from falling flat on her face.

"_I swear, if I ever see that fish man again, I'm going to turn him into a case of sardines" _

As she reached the bottom floor, the smell became stronger. She felt her mouth watering from the aroma.

"_Bakuto must be making breakfast" _she thought.

She leaned against the wall for support and walked into the kitchen to see someone working at the stove making breakfast.

It wasn't Bakuto that wasn't making breakfast, but rather Tifa.

The martial artist looked up from flipping a piece of bacon in the skillet that she was using.

She smiled brightly when she saw her friend.

"Morning, Mikomi" she said.

"How did you sleep?"

Mikomi just blinked a few times.

First, Nanaki and Cat Sith were sleeping in her room, now Tifa was making breakfast? What in the world was going on?

"Tifa….you're making breakfast?"

Tifa laughed.

"Of course I am, silly. I even made your favorite: chocolate chip pancakes"

She held up a huge plate of them.

"You must be hungry after what happened to you yesterday. Are you in any pain still?"

Mikomi had to lean against the wall for support. Her injured leg gave out on her.

"I'll live" She said.

"But why are you here? Shouldn't you be getting ready to leave for Gaia? You have to defeat Sephiroth"

"I'm not going" Tifa said.

She started cooking the eggs as she did so.

Mikomi looked at her strangely. She wasn't going? She wasn't going to defeat the man that caused her so much trouble? That killed her dad and Aerith? She wasn't going to defeat him and get her revenge?

"I must have hit my head really hard with that fish man's sword" she mumbled.

"I'm hearing my best friend saying she doesn't want to go back Gaia and stop Sephiroth"

She looked at her best friend.

"Why aren't you going back to Gaia?" she asked.

Before the martial artist could say anything, Yuri came into the room feeling hyper as ever.

"Oh, 'Komi-chan!"

She went up to her goddaughter and pulled her into a hug.

Mikomi was thankful that it wasn't one of her bear hugs.

Yuri pulled back and smiled at Mikomi.

"How are you feeling, honey? Are you in any pain?"

Mikomi shook her head.

"I can't really feel my leg at this point since it gave out on me, but other than that, I'm fine"

"Oh, why didn't you say so?"

Yuri picked her up.

"I'll take you to the table then so you don't have to strain yourself"

She walked past Tifa and smiled.

"Breakfast sure smells good, Tifa"

Tifa smiled.

"Thanks Yuri"

The Medic walked away with her goddaughter in tow.

Tifa just went back to making breakfast for everyone.

/

To say that Mikomi was surprised to see all of AVALANCHE sitting at the breakfast table would be an understatement.

She was beyond surprised and confused beyond all reason.

Why were they still here? They were suppose to be heading back to their own world.

Yuffie ran up to her when Yuri set her down.

"Morning, 'Komi-chan! Are you feeling better?"

Mikomi nodded like an idiot and looked at her.

"Yuffie? You're here too?"

Yuffie snickered.

"Of course I am, silly. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well…I thought you and everyone else would be leaving for Gaia now. Why are you still here?"

Yuffie placed her hands on her hips and gave her a look.

"You didn't honestly think that I was going to leave you after you were nearly shish-ka-bobbed by some shark man, did you? I'm here to protect you from those Aka-something guys"

She did her signature air punch.

"Nobody harms my ninja buddy and lives to tell the tale. Now they're going to mess with the white rose of Wutai!"

Mikomi just sweat dropped and looked at the others.

"And why are you guys here? Don't tell me it's because of what happened yesterday, is it? It wasn't a big deal"

Cid put out his cigarette and went up to Mikomi.

He stood right in front of her and flicked her in the forehead with his finger.

"Not a big deal? You nearly got your ass skinned alive" The pilot bellowed.

"You honestly think that we would abandon you for our own selfish reasons when you were nearly killed? Come on, Mikomi, you should know us better than that"

Mikomi rubbed her forehead from where she had been flicked.

They were staying behind because of yesterday?

"You mean you're not going to stop Sephiroth because of me?"

Everyone nodded.

"We won't let you go through with this alone" Vincent said.

"We defend our friends from anything"

"Vince it right" Barret said.

"You and Naruto are the babies of the family. If someone is after your life, we'll be there to stop them. Nobody messes with a member from AVALANCHE while I'm around"

Myou stood up from her seat.

"That's right, Captain! As your Lieutenant, it is my duty to serve and protect you. I won't let Itachi or Yumi get their hands on you!"

Tohru and Shoka nodded.

"We're here for you too"

Yugito grinned.

"It's like you always say. 'We Jinchuriki need to stick together'. Right Bakuto?"

She turned to her boyfriend to wait for his answer.

The dragon host just rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah"

Mikomi just looked at them.

"But what about Sephiroth?" she asked.

"If you stay here, then you'll ruin your chance of defeating him"

"That pain in the ass won't be going anywhere" Cid said.

"Neither will those Akatsuki creeps. Since your life is in danger at the moment, you come first. We can always get Sephiroth another time. You're important to us now"

Mikomi felt her eyes water up.

They were staying in Konoha for her?

They were giving up probably the biggest chance to defeat Sephiroth just so they could stay with her. They thought her safety was more important than fighting a mad man.

She felt like such a jerk.

"_Aww, man. I'm keeping them from their goals" _she thought.

"_I just ruined their chance to stop Sephiroth. What kind of friend am I?"_

She wiped her eyes when the tears started to fall.

Yuffie panicked.

"H-hey! Why are you crying? You should be happy! We're here for you"

"That's the whole point" Mikomi choked.

"Because of me, you can't finish off Sephiroth. I'm preventing you from achieving one of the biggest goals you had since I meet you guys"

She sniffled a little.

"I know destroying Sephiroth is your biggest goal and you've been talking about it for nearly half a year. I support that and I was willing to help you in any way, yet this whole Akatsuki crap came up and now I'm keeping back"

She cried a little harder.

"What kind of friend does that? I must be so selfish to do that to you guys. I'm sorry!"

She cried into her hands at this point.

She really did felt selfish.

She felt so clingy to them since they were her first real friends. They treated her kindly and didn't see her as a monster. She was afraid that they would suddenly leave from her and never return.

"_I'm so selfish!"_

Yuffie panicked as she saw her friend crying. She thought she would be happy that they were staying, not upset.

"D-don't cry, 'Komi-chan!" She said.

"You didn't do anything wrong! We decided to stay, it was all up to us. We weren't forced to stay here. We just wanted to help you. Please stop crying!"

"It's just one of the side effects from the medication Shoka gave her last night" Yuri said.

She looked at her colleague.

"I think you might have given her an overdose on that elixir, Shoka"

Shoka had a sheepish look on her face.

"Sorry" she mumbled.

Mikomi just kept crying in front of her friends.

She knew it was a disgrace for a ninja to show their emotions, but she couldn't care about that at this point.

She felt so horrible that she ruined her friends plans.

They were so set to stop Sephiroth, and then this all happened.

Yuffie desperately tried to make her stop crying.

"Please stop crying" she pleaded.

"You didn't do anything wrong"

Mikomi just looked at her with tears still in her eyes.

"But I did!" she sobbed.

"I'm being so selfish by making you guys stay here! You should be back in Gaia, not in Konoha! You should be fighting Sephiroth, not looking after me!"

She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Friends should do that to each other. They should let them go off and do the things that they want to do. They should be keeping them on a leash and staying in one place forever!"

Vincent wept up to her and wiped her tears with his cape.

"And friends shouldn't abandon their comrades when they need them the most" he said.

Mikomi stopped crying for a little bit and looked up at him.

"huh?"

The silent gunman simply looked at her.

"If we had just left you after what you've just been through, then we would be the ones who were being selfish" he said.

"We know that you've been suffering by yourself and had no one to lean on these past thirteen years. We simply couldn't leave you after you've just experienced the feeling of being loved and accepted. You're one of us now, Mikomi. And that means we all stick together, no matter what. We help each other, we support each other and we live with each other. Simple as that. We won't leave you alone anymore. You've had enough of that to last you a life time"

Yuffie nodded.

"Vinnie's right. We're here for you no matter what. We're your family now"

Mikomi looked at them.

They decided to stay here with her because they wanted to protect her and because they thought she was family?

"_Family"_

She never realized how much that word meant to her until now.

Before AVALANCHE came into her life, it was just her, Yuri and Naruto.

They were the only family she had after she lost her parents. Yuri was the only parent figure for them and she focused all of her time on raising them. It was so hard for her since she was the only adult in the house, but she made it possible.

But ever since she meet Cloud and the others, she was able to feel things that she never thought she would feel again. She was able to feel love and be hugged by her best friends, Tifa and Yuffie. She was able to feel secure from Vincent and Cid. She was able to feel content with her furry companions, Nanaki and Cat Sith. She was able to feel protected by a fatherly figure from Barret and Cloud. She was able to make friends who were just like her thanks to Bakuto and Yugito.

She never thought in a million years that she would be feeling this at all, and now that she did, she was grateful.

They all loved her so much that they wanted to be with her.

She felt tears pooling up her eyes again, only this time they weren't from sadness. She was happy beyond words that she was able to find such loyal and wonderful friends such as them.

"Thank you" She choked.

She started crying again a little.

"Thank you so much"

She smiled as she cried a little.

Yuffie grinned at her best friend.

"That's right, Mikomi. We here for you. Always"

As Mikomi was still crying, Tifa came into the room with breakfast.

She looked at Mikomi's crying form, then glared at the others.

"Which one of you made Mikomi cry?" she growled.

/

After telling Tifa the reason why Mikomi was crying, the martial artist decided not to beat her friends up.

"Awww, how could you think of something like that, Mikomi?"

She hugged her best friend tightly at the breakfast table and gave her an extra serving of food.

"Of course we would stay with you. You've become very important to us. If it weren't for the fact that you have to stay in your village, we would have brought you with us"

Mikomi smiled at that as she ate.

She looked around the table and noticed that a certain chocobo head was missing.

"_Cloud's not here?" _she thought.

She didn't blame him. If there was one person who hated Sephiroth the most, it was him. He wanted to settle the score with his enemy so badly.

She bet that he was already in Gaia right now.

"So Cloud left, huh?" she said.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. He does have a one track mind after all. Once his mind is set on something, he won't back down from it. Kind of reminds me of Naruto and his obsession with being Hokage. I guess that's one of the traits for being a blond"

Just then, someone whacked her upside the head with the morning paper.

Mikomi rubbed her head to see who it was and nearly felt her eyes bug out.

Cloud wore a tired and grumpy look on his face as he sat in his seat.

It seemed like he just got out of bed since he still wore his pajamas. He looked like he didn't get much sleep.

"I see you're back to your normal self" he said.

Mikomi just looked at him as if he was a ghost.

Why on earth was he still here? He should be back on Gaia and kicking Sephiroth's ass.

"Cloud….what are you doing here?"

Cloud just gave her his usual emotionless look.

"I happen to live here, in case you haven't notice" he said as if it was obvious.

Mikomi scoffed at that.

"I know that. What I meant was why are you _here _and not in Gaia? You have to fight Sephiroth"

Cloud looked grim for a moment.

"Not anymore" he said.

Mikomi blinked.

"Huh?"

Cloud sighed and ran his hand across his face.

"I got a call from Rufus last night" he said.

"Apparently, they lost track of Sephiroth and those remnant brothers. Since they don't know where they are, there's no point of going back and going off on some wild goose chase"

He looked at her and saw her bandages.

"Besides…I have more important matters that I need to attend to here"

He ran his hand through his spiky hair.

"Looks like you'll be stuck with me for a little while"

Technically, what he was saying wasn't actually true.

He did talk to Rufus, but he was the one who called him.

/

_Flashback: Last night._

_Cloud mulled over his options as he sat on his bed. His mind was so wound up that he couldn't fall asleep. _

_He was torn between two difficult options._

_Should he stay here and help with the Akatsuki problem? Or should he go back to Gaia and finish Sephiroth?_

_Both were very important to him since they both dealt with harming his loved ones._

_Sephiroth had killed Aerith and tormented his friends for so long, that he wanted it to end. Not only that, but he also nearly killed Mikomi._

_Then again, this Akatuski group was targeting her and Naruto, and one of them nearly killed her right in front of his eyes._

_He just didn't know what to do. He didn't know what the right choice would be. _

_If the village wasn't in shambles at the moment, he would have brought Mikomi and Naruto with him so they wouldn't be hunted by those rouge ninjas. But since the village elders were being pricks and wouldn't let them leave, that wasn't an option._

_As he thought about those two, he couldn't help but be reminded of Zack and Aerith. It freaked him out how they were so similar to one another._

_Mikomi looked exactly like Aerith with the same hair and eye color, while Naruto acted almost exactly like Zack. They were like carbon copies of them._

_Despite that, he knew they would never replace them. They had found a way in his heart and he didn't want to let them go._

_As he thought about it more, he just dreaded the thought that there were people out there that were trying to kill them._

_It scared him that there were people like that Kisame guy lurking within the shadows. He thought Gaia was more dangerous than here, but is seemed that he was wrong._

_He looked at his phone for a moment. _

_He didn't know what he was thinking, but right now his mind was telling him that he needed to stay here._

_Sure, the others would be here to protect Naruto and Mikomi, but he wouldn't._

_He didn't realize just how important they were to him until now._

_He picked up the phone and scrolled down to Rufus' number._

_He wanted to finish Sephiroth more than anything, but he just couldn't lose anyone else that was precious to him, he just couldn't._

_Dialing the number, he waited for the president to pick up._

_What seemed to be seconds, felt like hours to him as he waited for someone to pick up._

_The other line stopped ringing, indicating that someone was on the other line._

"_Yes?" Rufus said in a tired voice._

_Apparently he was woken up._

"_Rufus, it's me" _

"_Cloud? I didn't expect a call from you so soon" Rufus said._

"_I take it that you're going to be back by tomorrow?"_

_Cloud let out a low sigh._

_He wasn't going to like how Rufus was going to react in a couple of seconds, but this needed to be done._

"_About that" he said._

"_I don't think any of us will be coming back for a while"_

"_What?" Rufus said._

"_Why in the world not? I know that finding Sephiroth is important to you, so why aren't you coming? Surely the village wasn't damaged that badly from the attack"_

_Cloud ran his hand through his hair._

"_It's not that" he said._

"_Let's just say that something came up and it just can't be avoided" _

_He wasn't going to tell the reason why he wasn't coming back. _

_He didn't need to know everything that was going on in Mikomi's life. _

_He could hear Rufus sighing in the other line._

"_May I ask what this big dilemma is that it's preventing you from coming?"_

"_Nothing to concern you" Cloud said sternly._

"_The village is just in worse condition than we thought it would be. We couldn't leave in shambles like this"_

"_You mean to tell me that you would rather fix a village, than track down a mass murderer?" Rufus asked skeptically._

"_Don't take me for a fool, Cloud. What's really going on?"_

_Cloud gritted his teeth._

_Of course he would catch on. He wasn't a Shin-Ra for nothing._

"_Something happened to Mikomi and she needs us now" he said._

"_That's all I'm telling you, so don't bother asking for more"_

_Rufus didn't say anything for a moment. _

"_Did she get hurt or something?"_

"_Yes, and right now, she needs us to stay with her. It's too dangerous to leave her alone with the village as it is"_

_He wasn't lying about that. It was dangerous to leave her alone with Akatsuki running around._

_Rufus ran his hand through his hair._

"_If you stay there….you'll probably risk the biggest chance of getting Sephiroth for a long time" he said._

"_There won't be a second chance"_

_Cloud just thought about it for a moment. _

_True, he was risking everything that he planned for over this. But when he thought about how Mikomi was skinned alive in front of him, he knew he just couldn't leave her._

_He couldn't lose anyone else that was precious to him._

"_Then that's just a risk that I'm going to have to take" He said._

"_Mikomi's life is more important now"_

_Rufus didn't say anything for a moment._

_Cloud figured that he was a little ticked off over everything that just happened._

"_Three weeks" the president said._

"_Huh?"_

"_My Turks can track his movements for up to three weeks. If you aren't back by that time, then I'm afraid you're on your own with this"_

_Cloud resisted the urge to smirk._

_Perhaps Rufus wasn't a bad guy after all._

"_I'm sure we'll be back by that time" he said_

"_Thanks"_

"_No problem….and Cloud"_

"_What?"_

"_You better take care of Mikomi. I've seen the videos that Reeve made through Cat Sith. She's a good person, so make sure she's safe"_

_He didn't have to be told that twice._

"_Don't worry, she will be"_

"_Good. In that case, good luck"_

"_Thanks, I'll be needing it"_

_With that, he hung up and put his phone away._

_He felt good about his decision. He knew then, that he could never abandon Naruto or Mikomi like that. They were like his younger siblings, he would always take care of them._

_Just before he went to sleep, he heard Aerith talking to him._

"_You did the right thing, Cloud"_

_With a smirk, he went to sleep and hoped that Mikomi would be alright by morning._

_End Flashback_

/

No one knew about his talk with Rufus, not even his friends.

This was to be his own little secret.

Everyone was probably feeling a little down that they wouldn't be able to fight Sephiroth, so he decided to lie to them and say that Rufus lost him.

He also didn't want Mikomi to feel bad about all of this. He heard her crying earlier and knew lying about this would only make her feel better.

As he looked at her, he was glad to see that she was feeling better and was able to use her right arm a little.

Her hand would shake a little as she tried to pick up her food with that hand, but she managed to get it in her mouth.

She and Naruto deserved to be protected by him.

Speaking of Naruto, he didn't see him at the table.

"Hey, where's Naruto?"

"Oh, he slept at his apartment" Yuri said.

"He was probably afraid to come back here after that little stunt he pulled yesterday, so he stayed at his place"

Cloud growled a little as he remembered that 'incident'.

He hoped that Gai was in a body cast right about now.

The pervert deserved to die.

"When is he leaving with Jiraiya?" Mikomi asked.

Yuri shrugged.

"Don't know. You'll have to ask him" she said.

"Knowing him, he's probably already out doing his 'research' for his books, so you know where to find him"

Mikomi rolled her eyes.

"I see. Well, I'll be going then. I have some things to ask my _lovely _godfather"

She got up from her seat with much struggle.

She tested her leg out to see if it would hold her up.

She stumbled a little as she went up the stairs, so she had to crawl up the rest of the steps and into her room, where she now had the task of changing into her regular clothes with only one good arm to use.

"This will be fun" she mumbled to herself.

/

After a long and grueling task of changing her clothes, she was finally ready for the day.

She slowly made her way back downstairs and headed for the front door.

"_God, this is going to be a long and painful day" _she thought.

She quietly opened the door so no one would hear her leaving.

She felt bad that everyone had to stay behind because of her.

She didn't want them to feel obligated to look after her every second.

"_I'm a big girl. I can take care of myself"_

She quietly left the house and headed for the village to find Jiraiya.

She had a few things that she wanted to ask him, and he had the answers.

/

Walking through the village was a lot harder than she thought it would be.

There was still ruble on the ground and people were carrying stuff around to fix the buildings.

She had to move out of the way so she wouldn't bump into anyone, which was hard as it is with only one leg not injured.

To make it even worse, it was super hot out.

Being in the land of fire meant that they had very hot summers.

She limped through the streets in search of her godfather.

She knew he would be at the hot springs, so she went in that direction.

When she got half way there, her leg gave out on her and she fell flat on her face.

The people who were walking past her just laughed at her.

She sat up and held her leg. It seemed that the medicine that Shoka gave her was wearing off.

She tried to stand up on a pair of shaky legs, but she kept stumbling as she stood.

At one point, she bumped into someone.

"Sorry" she said.

She turned around to see who she bumped into and found Cloud standing before her.

"Oh"

"What are you doing out here?" he asked her.

"The Akatuski are after you and you're walking through the streets by yourself. It's dangerous for you"

Mikomi just rolled her eyes.

"I highly doubt they would come for me after what happened yesterday. They don't want to draw attention to themselves"

"Doesn't matter. From now on, you don't leave the house without one of us with you, got it?"

Mikomi was about to protest, but Cloud gave her a stern look.

"Don't argue with me. Just go with it"

Mikomi just pouted and let Cloud walk with her to the hot springs.

"I can take care of myself, you know" she said as they walked.

"Sure you can" Cloud said.

"And yet you got your ass handed to you by a fish man"

A tick mark appeared on her forehead.

"How was I suppose to know that his sword was made out of shark skin? Besides, I'm healing up nicely thanks to Usagi"

"_Right Usagi?" _she thought er demon.

Her only answer was Usagi snoring, indicating that she wasn't listening.

Cloud just gave her a look.

"Aside from Naruto, you attract more danger than anyone else I know. Even Yuffie doesn't get this seriously injured"

"Yeah, and Yuffie get's motion sickness real easily and can't even sleep in a tree without throwing up. And she calls herself a ninja"

Cloud snorted.

"Try telling that to her face"

They made it at the hot springs.

"I might as well go get Jiraiya, can't have him scaring half of the inhabitants there"

Cloud placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll get him. You're in no condition to be lugging a 50 year old out of a bath house. Just stay put and don't so anything stupid"

Mikomi glared at him as he walked into the bath house.

"_Stupid, Cloud. He always treats me like a kid"_

Cloud came back out moments later pulling Jiraiya by his long hair.

"Ow! Damnit Cloud, let go! You're interfering with my research!"

"Can it, you old perv" Cloud said.

He brought him over to Mikomi.

She simply waved at him.

"Hey, Jiraiya. Glad to see you're still doing your sick hobby"

Jiraiya made a face.

"It's research! I'm trying to gather info for my newest novel! I'm a writer for crying out loud!"

"You know, there's another name for your job description" Cloud said.

"They're called peeping toms"

Mikomi snickered while Jiraiya glared at him.

"You're just jealous that you can't write such fabulous books like mine"

Cloud made a face.

"Please, like I would read such trash as that. I have my morals"

"Say what you will, but books are famous! Everyone loves my work!"

"And when you mean by everyone, do you mean those sadly lonely guys who can't get themselves a girl, so they have to pretend that they have one by reading your books?"

"Why you little!"

Mikomi laughed her ass off as they continued to bicker. They had brighten her day with their little comedy routine.

"Oh, man. That was awesome!"

She wiped the tears from her eyes.

"I really needed that"

Jiraiya just glared at Cloud before looking at his goddaughter. He was glad to see that she was looking better from yesterday.

"How are you doing, Mikomi?"

"I'm fine, but I have a few things that I wanted to ask you"

Her stomach suddenly growled.

"But first, I need to grab something to eat. Shoka's medicine really makes you hungry fast"

Jiraiya grinned.

"Come on, I'll get you some ramen"

They headed towards Ichiraku. Cloud have Mikomi a piggy back ride so she wouldn't have to strain her leg as much.

As they talked, Mikomi asked Jiraiya some of the questions that she had on her mind, one of them being about Itachi and Yumi.

She was so engrossed with her own little world, that she didn't realize something bad was about to happen to her village again.

/

Near the gates of the Konoha, a young woman walked towards it.

"So this is Konoha…or rather, what's left of it"

She suddenly smirked evilly.

"This may be easier than I thought it would be"

She stepped through the gates and walked through the streets of Konoha.

/

**A/N: Yay! Cloud stayed! I'm sure everyone knew that, but I wanted to keep him in character with him deciding.**

**Who is this young woman from the end of the chapter? And what does she plan to do about Konoha? **

**You'll just have to review to find out.**

**Ja ne**


	53. Awase

Chapter 53: Awase

**A/N: I know I haven't updated this story in a while, but let's just say that I've been caught up in my Kingdom Hearts and Hellsing Fanfic.**

**Sorry if it's been a while, but here's the next chapter.**

**I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy7. I simply own Mikomi, Yuri and Usagi while Bakuto Masaki owns his OCs and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

"Talking"

"_Thinking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"_Aerith Talking"_

**Enjoy!**

/

Mikomi laughed as she ate her ramen.

She had been listening to Jiraiya as he told what he had been doing these past twelve years.

It seemed like he was doing more than just research for his books and tracking the Akatsuki.

Cloud found some of his tales to be amusing. He never laughed, but he would let a smirk slip.

As they were talking, Mikomi had a hard time eating her ramen.

Since her right arm was injured by Kisame and she was right handed, that meant that her hand kept shaking every time she lift her chopsticks up.

Sighing in defeat, she placed them back into her bowl.

"_Man, I wish my arm would heal up. I need food!"_

Jiraiya saw this and picked up her chopsticks for her.

"Here you go" he said.

"I can feed you like you were a kid again"

Mikomi gave him a dull glare as he held her chopsticks in front of her.

"Here comes the airplane"

Mikomi just bitch smacked him with her left hand.

"My left arm is still working, just so you know" she said.

Jiraiya grumbled as he rubbed his face.

"That's my girl" Cloud said as he ate his ramen.

As they were eating, Mikomi remembered that Jiraiya had to search for Tsunade.

Their village couldn't be without a Hokage for very long.

"Hey, Jiraiya. When are you going to search for Tsunade?"

Jiraiya shrugged.

"Don't know" he said.

"I'll probably leave soon. The village elders want me to do it soon, but I want to find your brother first. I plan on training him while we're traveling"

Mikomi made a face at the mention of the village elders.

She absolutely hated them.

They felt that since work alongside the Hokage, that meant that they had power over everyone. They used everyone like tools and treated her and Naruto like monsters.

Homura and Koharu weren't so bad, but it was Danzo that was the problem.

Whenever she was around him, she just wanted to slug the guy.

He always felt that Sarutobi's way of ruling the village made their nation soft.

Everything about that man pissed her off. From the way that he dressed to the way that he talked.

She snapped her chopsticks in anger as she thought of him.

Jiraiya sweat dropped at the sight.

He nearly forgot how much she hated Danzo.

"Anyway" he said.

"Where's that annoying little brother of yours? I need him to come with if I want to find Tsunade"

"Give him a few minutes" Cloud said.

"He'd never start his day without eating ramen. I wouldn't be surprised if he suddenly showed up right now"

As soon as he said that, the village knuckle head appeared next to them and attached himself to Cloud.

"Ni-san!"

"See?" Cloud said.

He tried to pull Naruto off, but he was like a koala bear. He was strapped to his side, and he wasn't going to let go.

Naruto was all grins when he saw his older brother.

He thought that he would be leaving to go back to his world, but he was thrilled to see him at his favorite place.

He rubbed his head against his side and laughed a little.

"What are you doing here, Ni-san? I thought you had to go back to your village?"

"Had a slight change in plans" Cloud said.

"Our friend, Rufus lost sight of Sephiroth, so we have to wait until he's found. So in the meantime, we're staying here"

Naruto cheered at hearing that.

"Hurray!"

He spotted his sister sitting next to Cloud and nervously looked at her.

He was worried that she was still mad at him for that little towel stunt he pulled on her yesterday.

But when he saw all of the bandages that covered the right side of her body, he flipped out.

"Nee-Chan! What happened to you?"

Mikomi rubbed her head nervously.

She didn't want to tell him that she was attacked by a group that was after her and her brother. It would scare the poor boy.

The only thing she could do was lie to him.

"Oh, I uh, just got hurt when I was fixing up a roof. I lost my footing and fell off, but I'm ok"

Naruto just looked at her.

He knew when she lied to him, but he wasn't going to press her for the truth.

As long as she was alright, that's all that mattered to him.

The only thing he was worried about was if she was still mad at him.

"Are you, uh…still mad at me for yesterday?" he asked.

Mikomi had really forgotten about the little towel stunt.

Sure, she was mad at him, but she really couldn't blame him. It was an accident after all.

"I'm over it" she said.

"But don't you ever do something like that again"

She, along with Cloud sent him a nasty glare.

Naruto laughed nervously.

Jiraiya was getting annoyed that he was being ignored, so he cleared his throat to grab everyone's attention.

"Oh, you're still here" Mikomi said dully.

Naruto's eyes went wide went he saw the hermit.

"Pervy sage!" he cried.

A tick mark appeared in Jiraiya's forehead.

"_It's always 'pervy sage' this and 'pervy sage' that" _he thought.

"Hey, Naruto. I was just about to look for you" he said.

"I'm going on this little trip to find someone, and I was wondering if you would want to co-"

"No way!"

Jiraiya looked surprised.

He didn't think he would say no right away.

"Why not?"

Naruto gave him a disgusted look.

"Cause knowing you, you're probably going off to find research for your book" He said.

Mikomi and Cloud resisted the urge to smirk.

For being a dimwit, the kid sure picked up on things.

Jiraiya just gave him a face.

"It's not that kind of trip" he said.

"I'm searching for a pretty woman and I need you to come with. Women a suckers for kids"

"All the more reason for me not to go" Naruto said.

"Besides, I need to see if Kakashi-Sensei will teach me that Chidori trick that he taught Sasuke. I'm not going to let him be better than me"

Mikomi completely forgot that Kakashi was in a coma because of her.

He pushed her out of the way so she wouldn't get caught up in Itachi's sharingan.

She became depressed really fast.

"_I put the man that I love most into a coma. I must be the worst teammate ever!"_

Cloud on the other hand was thrilled.

With Kakashi in a coma, that meant he wouldn't be hitting on Mikomi.

Sure, he was grateful that he saved Mikomi, but he still hated him.

With him out of the way, that was one less guy that would hit on his dearest friend.

"_Now to just take care of Gai" _he thought.

Jiraiya was getting really ticked off that Naruto wouldn't come with.

If he didn't go with him, then he had to bring a whole Anbu squad with him and he didn't want that.

It was time to pull out his trump card.

"A new Jutsu, you say?" he asked.

"Well, I know this pretty awesome justu that would make the Chidori look pathetic compared to it. I was going to teach you it while we were traveling, but if you're not going, then I'll just ask Sasuke"

The changed Naruto's mind right away.

"Why didn't you say that before? Hang on, I'll go get my stuff! Don't you go anywhere, Pervy Sage!"

He ran out of the hut and went to grab his stuff.

Mikomi and Cloud just sweat dropped at the sight.

"That boy has a one track mind" Cloud said.

"You got that right" Mikomi replied.

She looked at her godfather.

"You happy now?" she asked.

Jiraiya shrugged.

"Not really" he said.

"I would be happy if a really cute girl came by"

As he said that, a young woman how appeared to be in her mid twenties came walking by.

She had long silky brown hair, black eyes, and wore brown civilian clothes.

She looked really cute, but overall, she looked lost.

The girl kept looking around her as if she was looking for something.

Jiraiya picked this up right away.

"Guess it's my lucky day!" he said.

He pushed his spiky hair back and looked at Cloud and Mikomi.

"How do I look?" he asked them.

"Stupid" they said in unison.

Jiraiya just gave them a face.

"Whatever, you're jealous you can't be like me"

Whatever"

Jiraiya just brushed the away and walked over to the distressed lady.

"Excuse miss, but are you alright?"

The woman looked at him and blushed slightly.

"Oh, pardon me!" she said.

"I-I'm sort of new here and I have no idea where I'm at. I was suppose to me my friends here in the leaf village, but I can't tell where I'm at with all this rubble"

She rubbed her head nervously.

"I must look foolish, don't I?"

Jiraiya laughed innocently.

"Don't be ridiculous" he said.

"Of course anyone would get lost with the village as it is. Heck, I even get lost myself. Why don't I show you around and help you find your friends?"

The woman blushed slightly.

"Oh, I wouldn't want to be a bother to you" she said.

Jiraiya just grinned at her.

"Nonsense, I don't have anything to do right now. Besides, I can't let a cute little thing such as yourself get lost, I would be a stab to my pride"

The woman giggled.

"You're very kind" she said.

"I'm Awase"

"Awase, what a lovely name" Jiraiya said.

"I'm the one and only, Jiraiya!"

Awase gasped a little.

"Jiraiya? As in one of the legendary Sanin?"

Jiraiya grinned.

"One in the same, my dear"

Awase blushed madly.

"I'm deeply honored that you would like to help me"

Jiraiya held out his arm.

"Then what are we waiting for?" he asked.

Awase gently took his arm and walked along side him as he showed her around.

/

Mikomi had a dull look on her face as she watched her godfather.

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Does he always have to think about girls?"

"You've known him longer than I have" Cloud said.

"You figure it out"

Mikomi just sighed and paid for their meal.

"I might as well find Naruto" she said.

"Knowing him, he's probably packing every single thing that he owns"

Cloud got up from his stool and stood in front of Mikomi.

"Come on" he said.

Mikomi rolled her eyes and jumped on his back.

"I can walk you know" she said.

"Barely" Cloud replied.

"You can't take a step without tripping over something"

Mikomi grumbled as they walked.

/

After arguing with her blond friend, Mikomi was finally allowed to walk on her own.

"I swear you're worse than my dad" she said.

Cloud really didn't say anything.

He was more occupied with checking their surroundings. Just because Yuri said the Akatsuki wouldn't strike in the village again, didn't mean he was going to relax.

From what he learned during his stay in the village, anything could happen.

He had a feeling that they would attack if they left their guard down.

He had lost two friends due to his carelessness; he was not going to let that happen again.

Mikomi looked around the village. Since it was still in shambles, there really wasn't much to do around here.

"Man, I wish they could liven this place up a bit"

Just then, Yuri and Bakuto came running towards them.

Well, it was mostly Bakuto running away from Yuri.

"Wait, Bakuto! You can't leave the house without an escort!" Yuri cried.

Bakuto looked at Yuri with horror.

He really wasn't afraid of anything, but there were times where Yuri would creep him out.

He could only tolerate so much from her.

"Go away! I can take care of myself!"

He spotted his rival and felt he found his beckon of hope. If Yuri saw her favorite goddaughter, then she would just have to leave him alone.

"_I know she's my rival and I want nothing to do with her. But desperate times call for desperate measures"_

He ran up to her and grabbed her arms.

"You have to keep her away from me!" he pleaded.

"If I hear another word come out of her mouth, I think I'm going to kill myself!"

Mikomi looked at him dully.

She wasn't remotely surprised by his reaction.

Yuri had a tendency to break people easily.

Yuri ran up to them.

"Bakuto! Slow down!"

When she saw her goddaughter, Bakuto went out of her mind.

"'Komi-chan!" she squealed.

She went up to her and pulled her into a tight bear hug.

"So this is where you were hiding off t, huh? I should have known you would sneak out of the house like that. You sneaky little fox you"

Mikomi desperately tried to get out of Yuri's grasp. Since she was still injured, that meant Yuri was making them worse.

Cloud pulled her back so Mikomi could breathe.

"Knock it off. She's still injured, remember?" he asked.

Yuri laughed nervously.

"Opps" she said.

Bakuto rolled his eyes and looked at his rival.

"So what are you doing out here?"

Mikomi shrugged.

"Nothing much. I just asked Jiraiya a few questions and ate ramen with him" she said.

"He was suppose to be leaving with Naruto to find Tsunade, but…let's just say that he got a little distracted and is walking around the village"

"You mean he found a girl?" Yuri asked.

Mikomi nodded.

As if to further her point, Jiraiya came walking by with Awase still holding his arm.

She seemed to be laughing at something he said.

"Oh, who's that?" Yuri asked.

"That chick Jiraiya picked up" Mikomi said.

"Her name is Awase"

As Yuri looked at Awase, her mind went downhill.

" _Hm. Too bad a prefer the fellas" _she thought.

"_Then again, I could always draw a mustache on her"_

(A/N: Sorry, I saw this on Two and A Half Men and I just had to use it)

She bit her finger as she thought of this.

Everyone saw that look in her eyes and they all took a step back.

Whenever she looked like that, they knew it couldn't be good.

Jiraiya walked up to them with Awase in tow.

"Hey guys, I'd like to introduce you to Awase" he said.

Awase waved at them.

"Awase, these are a couple of friends of mine. This is my cousin, Yuri. My goddaughter, Mikomi. And her two friends, Cloud and Bakuto"

They all waved lamely.

They weren't up to being introduced to Jiraiya's new swing.

An evil smirk appeared on Mikomi's face as she thought of something.

"Not to be rude or anything" she said to Awase.

"But you can get pregnant just by talking to him. He's a real perv"

Jiraiya looked appalled while the rest busted out laughing. Well, it was mainly Yuri and Mikomi laughing, but Bakuto and Cloud wore a smirk on their faces.

Jiraiya was sputtering as he pointed a finger at his goddaughter.

How could she say that to him while he was with a cute girl?

"I-I am not a pervert!" he bellowed.

"H-how could you say that?"

Awase just laughed.

"I'm sure she didn't mean any harm" she said.

"She was just trying to be silly"

"You could say that" Mikomi said dryly.

Awase laughed a little until she looked at Bakuto.

She had this strange look on her face as she looked at him that it creped him out a little.

"What?" he asked annoyed.

Awase snapped out of it and blushed embarrassingly.

"Oh, nothing" she said.

"You just remind me of someone"

Bakuto just shrugged it off.

Awase smiled kindly at Jiraiya.

"I had so much fun, Mater Jiraiya, but I should be going" she said.

"I have a feeling that my friends haven't arrived here yet, so I'm just going to wait for them back at our hotel that's off near the border of the village"

Jiraiya looked a little sad that his little gal pal was leaving so soon.

But then again, he needed to leave with Naruto so they could find Tsunade.

"I see" he said dramatically.

"Then I wish you farewell and that you have a safe journey. Our time together will forever be cherished in my heart"

Mikomi made a gagging face to the others when the two weren't looking.

"Jiraiya can be a real kiss up sometimes" Usagi said.

Awase waved goodbye to them and left.

Jiraiya sighed sadly when she left.

"Oh get over it" Yuri said.

"I'm sure you're bound to find another hot chick when you go find Tsunade"

Jiraiya mulled it over.

"You're probably right" he said.

"Speaking of which, where is that knuckle head?"

"Hey guys!"

They all turned around to see Naruto.

"I'm all set for the trip! Let's get going!"

Mikomi sweat dropped when she saw her brother's back pack.

It had to be about the same size as he was and was filled to the bring.

Naruto tugged on it as he tried to get to his friends.

Jiraiya sweat dropped as well.

"You do realize we're going to be gone for a few days, not a whole year, you know"

Mikomi just pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That's my brother for you"

/

As Awase walked from the village gates, she looked around to see if anyone was near.

When she saw that she was alone, she walked deep within the forest.

She was far within the trees; she looked at the group that was hidden within the shadows.

"What do you have to report?" the leader asked.

Awase's casual carefree expression became cold and emotionless.

"The whole village is in shambles" she said.

"Security is very limited and they're left wide open. It's the perfect opportunity to strike"

The figure grinned evilly.

"Excellent" they said.

Awase looked at her superior.

"And that's not the only thing" she said.

"It seems that there's a cloud ninja staying here as well. Someone you might find interesting"

"Oh? Who would that be?"

"Bakuto Masaki"

The figure shifted a little.

"Bakuto you say?"

A set of cold blue eyes opened.

"That is very interesting"

The leader laughed evilly.

"Excellent, this will make my plans even more interesting"

The leader stood up and looked at the others.

"We'll put our plans into motion within two days. In the meantime, prepair yourselves"

The group laughed darkly.

Awase smirked evilly.

"For a legendary Sanin" she said.

"Master Jiraiya can be really clueless"

It seems that the Hidden Leaf Village wasn't out of the woods yet.

/

**A/N: Looks like Jiraiya just put the village into deeper water. Who is this mysterious group and why is the leader interested in Bakuto?**

**You'll just have to review to find out.**

**Ja ne!**


	54. How I hate the Elders

Chapter 54: How I hate the Elders

**A/N: Can you believe it's been a year since this story was published? Man time flies! Sorry I haven't written this story I a while, but at least I'm back.**

**Happy 1 Year Anniversary!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I just own my Oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

"Talking"

_Thinking"_

"_Aerith Talking"_

"Usagi Talking"

"**Taimat Talking"**

**Enjoy!**

/

Mikomi wondered how Naruto could be so stupid at times.

It seemed that the reason he couldn't move his very large backpack was because he had stuffed it with nothing but Ramen.

"You're not staying up in the mountains for a year, you idiot" she said.

Naruto laughed nervously.

"Well, I figured that there won't be any ramen where Pervy Sage and I are going, so I wanted to bring some with"

"And you didn't think to bring any of your clothes or weapons?" Cloud asked.

Naruto thought about this for a moment.

"I never thought of that" Naruto admitted.

Cloud just rolled his eyes.

He was used to the boy's stupidity by now.

Jiraiya made a face.

"Go pack some clothes" he said.

"There will be ramen where we'll be going"

Naruto made a face.

"Fine"

"Did you get your things from your apartment?" Mikomi asked.

Naruto nodded.

"Yeah, I have some spare clothes there that I can use"

"Then let's go over there. I bet it needs to be cleaned up"

She attempted to lift her brother's backpack, but had to have Cloud carry it instead.

"Why does Naruto have an apartment if he lives at your house?" he asked.

They were walking towards the boy's apartment as they talked.

"The village provided it for him" Mikomi said.

"Since Yuri and I are always on missions, it was a bad idea to leave him alone in our big house. He said he didn't like being alone in such a big place. Sarutobi-sama was nice enough to let him have one for when I was away"

"But doesn't that cost much? Besides paying for your house, you have to pay rent for that as well"

"No. The village pays for it. I just have to pay for the house that my parents gave me and that's it"

Cloud mulled this over.

He didn't think it was right for a teenager to have to pay for their house.

"_Yuri should be doing that" _he thought.

/

They reached Naruto's apartment in a manner of minutes.

Naruto pulled out the key to his little home and unlocked the door.

When they got inside, Cloud was surprised by how small the place was.

All that the room provided was a bed and a place where Naruto could shower.

There was no way that this hyper boy could live in such a cramped area.

He thought the rooms in Seventh Heaven were small, but after seeing this, they were considered to be living rooms now.

Mikomi picked up the dirty clothes that were scattered around the room.

"What have I told you about leaving your stuff all over the place?" she asked.

Naruto laughed nervously.

"Eh Heh Heh, sorry Nee-chan"

Mikomi just rolled her eyes as she picked everything up.

"Your room back at the house is a lot cleaner than this"

She took care of cleaning the place up while Naruto packed his things.

Cloud just stood near the doorway and watched as the two siblings went about with their business.

Just watching them gave him an unsettling feeling in his gut.

These teenagers were deprived of a normal childhood.

They were made to be hosts for powerful demons and they had to live everyday in fear.

When he was their age, he didn't have to worry about that.

He had a mother who kept an eye on him, and gave him unconditional love.

They didn't have parents, and they had to rely on themselves.

Sure, Yuri was able to take care of them by herself, but he figured it must have been hard.

It didn't seem fair.

"_The guys and I should do something about this" _he thought.

If they were going to be staying here with them, they should be taking care of them as well.

They were the babies of the family and they needed to be looked after.

"_Especially with those Akatsuki guys running around"_

When Naruto finished packing, they left his apartment.

"I highly doubt that place is going to stay clean for a week" Mikomi said.

"Naruto can be such a slob"

Naruto made a face.

"You're one to talk" he said.

"At least I don't leave all my underwear out in the open for people to see. And who ever said that Scotty dog panties were hot? Why not wear a thong?"

Mikomi went beat red with embarrassment.

She whacked him upside the head.

"You little perv!" she cried.

"What have I told you about staying out of my room? And why are you going through my underwear?"

Cloud held the bridge of his nose.

Naruto just had to talk about his sister's underwear and act like it was nothing.

"_He's been spending way too much time with Jiraiya" _he thought.

He simply tried to suppress the headache that was forming while Naruto and Mikomi bickered.

/

Yuri kept giving Naruto kisses as he stood near the village gates with Jiraiya.

"You have to promise me that you'll call me every day that you're gone, you hear me?" she said.

"But I don't how I can" Naruto said.

"It's not like I can write to you or anything"

Cloud pulled out his cell phone and handed it to him.

"You can use this" he said.

"It has the house number programmed into it. Don't lose it or break it"

Naruto looked at the phone in shock.

He knew how much Cloud's cell phone meant to him.

The fact that he was giving it to him of all people meant that he really cared about him.

He looked up at the older blond and grinned.

"Ni-san!"

He hugged him tightly like he usually did.

Cloud just sighed and patted his head.

"Just be safe, ok?"

Mikomi, in the meantime, was setting down the rules for Jiraiya while he watched Naruto.

"He goes to bed at 9:30 precisely; otherwise it'll be impossible for him to go to sleep. Don't let him watch horror films, or else you'll have a sleeping partner. Don't let him pig out on just ramen, he needs his veggies"

She suddenly got into his face.

"And most importantly: if you let anything happen to Naruto, I will personally cut your little friend off with a scalpel"

Jiraiya just made a face at her.

"I'll keep an eye on him, so don't worry" he said.

Mikomi just have him a stern look before going over to Naruto.

She hugged him tightly.

"You be careful, ok?" she said.

"But also have fun"

Naruto hugged her in return.

"Don't worry, Nee-chan. I will"

The group waved him goodbye as he left.

"The village is going to be really quiet without him" Mikomi said.

"I don't know about that" Bakuto said.

"You're still here"

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's forehead.

"Why you"

Yuri got in front of them before a fight could begin.

"Now, now. There's no need for a little cat fight" she said.

Just then, an Anbu Black Op soldier appeared before them.

"Lady Yuri, you have been summoned to see the village elders"

Yuri rolled her eyes.

"What do those old windbags want with me?"

"I don't know, my lady. All they said was that you were summoned to the Hokage's office and that they would like to speak with you"

Yuri sighed.

"I'll be there in a minute"

The Anbu nodded and left.

Yuri looked at Cloud.

"Will you be able to keep an eye on Bakuto and Mikomi?"

The blond nodded.

"That's good, but just in case"

She snapped her fingers and had Myou and Tohru appear.

"I'll have them help you"

Mikomi sweat dropped.

"I'm not 6, Yuri. I don't need a babysitter"

Yuri grabbed her shoulders.

"In case you have forgotten, there is a group of S-ranked criminals out there to get you. They managed to get into the village once, who's to say they can't do it again?"

"This is all Orochimaru's fault" Myou said.

"If he didn't attack the village, our security wouldn't be so bad"

Yuri growled at her old teammate's name.

"I swear, when I get my hands on that snake, I'm going to chop off his balls and shove them up his ass"

Bakuto made a face.

"Can't you just leave that up to the Anbu Black Ops?"

"We can't do the ball thing" Mikomi said.

"It's against procedure"

Myou nodded.

"Trust me, we've tried"

Bakuto just held the bride of his nose.

"Why do I even bother?"

Yuri waved at them and headed towards the Hokage tower.

"As much as I hate the elders, I feel bad that they have to talk to Yuri" Mikomi said.

Myou nodded.

"Who knows what she'll do to them"

"She does have a way with words" Tohru added.

"We'll just have to wait and see the end results" Cloud said.

/

Since the village was still under repair, there really wasn't much to do.

Mikomi would have helped out with repairs, but Cloud, Myou and Tohru refused to let her do anything.

She sighed as Cloud carried her around the village on his back.

"Just because I'm injured, doesn't mean I can't do anything" she said.

Cloud just rolled his eyes.

"Please, you're a magnet for trouble when you're injured" he said.

"You're lucky you don't end up at the hospital" Bakuto said.

Mikomi scoffed at that.

"Like hell I'll go to the hospital" she said.

"I hate that place. Every time I'm supposed to stay there, I sneak out the window. Everyone hates me there and if I stay there for too long, I just know they'll give me a morphine overdoes"

"But captain, Shoka works there and you don't have a problem with her" Tohru pointed out.

"Shoka is the only person in that hospital that's crazy enough to want to be friends with me" Mikomi pointed out.

"And I'm crazy to even be socializing with you" Bakuto said.

Mikomi glared at him and tried to attack him, but Cloud held her back.

"Give it a rest, will you?" he asked.

"You're worse than Naruto is with Sasuke"

Mikomi made a face at him.

"Well, it seems that you're still out and about"

Everyone turned around to see Homura and Koharu coming towards them.

Mikomi scowled when she saw them and slid off Cloud's back.

"Well if it isn't the village elders" she said.

"And just what do want with little old me?"

Homura and Koharu just sent her a dirty look.

Ever since Minato adopted Mikomi, they had always been a thorn in her side.

They thought it was improper for a Hokage to pick up some radon orphan during the war.

"We heard that you had a little encounter with Itachi and Yumi the other day" Koharu said.

"And we wanted to see what the outcome was"

"And judging by your appearance, we can tell that it wasn't good" Homura added.

He shook his head.

"How disgraceful"

Mikomi glared at them.

They had come all this way just to tell her that she was disgraceful for nearly being killed by Itachi and Yumi.

"Disgraceful?" she spat.

"How am I being disgraceful?"

"You fought with two S-ranked criminals and let them get away" Koharu snapped.

"And what's more, they came here because of you"

Mikomi ground her teeth in frustration.

So now they were blaming Itachi and Yumi's appearance on her?

Myou and Tohru knew where this was going.

They had seen their fair fights with their captain and the elders, and they were not pretty.

"But how is this Captain Mikomi's fault?" Myou asked.

"She was too busy with repairs, so surely she didn't know they were here"

"That doesn't change the fact that she let them get away" Koharu said.

"After claiming to be friends with them for so many years, you would think that she knew all of their techniques"

Mikomi could feel Usagi starting to stir within her.

"I haven't seen them for over ten years" she said.

"They have learned things over that time that I don't know about. You can't blame all of this on me when I had no idea what was going on. You're just wasting your time lecturing me about this"

Homura glared at her.

"Watch your mouth, young lady" he said.

"I can understand about you not knowing about them coming here. But as a shinobi of this village, you should know that failure is not an option, whether it comes to a mission or an invasion. If Sarutobi or the Fourth were still here, they would be disappointed in you"

That did it for Mikomi.

How dare they bring her father up like this?

Myou and Tohru took a step back when they felt her chakra radiating off of her.

"They would be disappointed with me?" she asked.

She pretended to mull this over.

"Hmm, so you're saying that after I nearly got killed by trying to stop Garra of the Sand from transforming into Shukaku and saving the village from Orochimaru, that they would be disappointed? And how I pretty much almost got killed because I was trying to prevent Itachi and Yumi from stepping further into the village . Tell me, how is that being disgraceful?"

The Elders just glared at her.

"And why do you both have the nerve to tell me this after everything that I did for this village, while you have done absolutely nothing?"

Homura raised an eyebrow.

"What are you getting at?"

Mikomi stuck her hands in her pockets.

"Let me ask you this: while Orochimaru attacked the village, what were you both doing? Were you out there attacking?"

Homura and Koharu didn't say anything.

"Oh, that's right! You did nothing! While the village was being attacked, you both stood of to the side lines and let everyone else sacrifice themselves to save our village. Even Hokage-sama, who is a few years older than you, fought with Orochimaru and scarified his life to save everyone else. And you both have the nerve to call me disgraceful? What kind of village elders would let everyone else fight your battles?"

Myou and Tohru had their eyes bug out.

They could not believe that their captain was talking to the village elders like that.

Even Homura and Koharu couldn't believe it.

"How dare you?" Koharu said,

"No, how dare you?" Mikomi said.

She got up in their faces.

"You know, if it was Sarutobi-sama that was telling me all of this, I would understand. He's the Hokage, he has the final say in everything. But to be lectured by a couple of village elders, who don't have the back bone to fight off a couple of ninjas really pisses me off. You maybe be the elders of the village and have a final say to what the Hokage believes in, but you do not have the right to tell me how I do my job as a ninja. That's the Hokage's job. Now instead of telling me how I should do my job as a ninja, why don't you start doing your jobs as the village elders and try to get the village back to normal?"

Myou and Tohru gasped as they heard their captain say that.

No one ever talked back to the elders like that.

Bakuto was surprised as well, even he knew not to mess with them.

"_She either has to be very brave, or very stupid" _he thought.

Cloud wore a proud smirk.

He had heard all kinds of things about the Elders and he was glad that Mikomi had a back bone to talk back to them.

Nobody told her how she should run her life.

"_That's my girl" _he thought.

Homura and Koharu were mortified.

How dare this little brat talk badly about them.

"You have quite a mouth on you" Homura said.

"You are just like your mother"

"Wow, that has to be the nicest thing you've ever said to me" Mikomi said sarcastically.

She turned around and walked over to her friends.

"I'm tired, let's go home"

They all nodded and started heading.

But the next thing that came out of Koharu's mouth made everyone stop.

"You may be the Fourth Hokage's daughter, but you're still some random orphan that he picked up off the streets"

Myou gasped horrified.

She knew better than anyone how touchy Mikomi was about her parents.

Mikomi's eyes went blood red as she looked at Koharu.

She growled deeply within her throat as a set of canine teeth came out of her mouth.

Just as she was about to attack the elder woman, Cloud pulled her to his chest and held her tightly so she wouldn't escape.

"We're leaving" he ordered.

He glared at the elders before dragging Mikomi away from them.

Myou was fuming as they walked away.

"I can't believe those windbags!" she said.

"How could they say that about my captain?"

"It must have been some sort of payback for being looked like fools" Tohru said.

"But at least it wasn't Danzo, he would have done much worse than they did"

"They just see her as a threat and they want to control her" Bakuto said.

"The elders are always like that in each village"

Cloud didn't say anything to all of this.

He had to admit, the elders reminded of what Rufus was once like. He didn't care what other people thought of him, he simply wanted to be in control.

He looked at Mikomi to see that her head was down.

Her bangs were covering her face, but he could see tears running down her face.

He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gave her a light squeeze.

"It's ok" he said to her.

Mikomi just ground her teeth.

"I hate them" she muttered.

"I hope they die"

/

"Hey everyone!" Yuri cried.

She had been waiting for them back at the house.

She had big news that she wanted to share, and she couldn't keep quiet about it anymore.

But when she saw the look on her goddaughter's face, she frowned.

"What happened?" she asked.

She went over to Mikomi and hugged her tightly.

"Were the villagers picking on you again?"

Cid got up from the couch and pulled out his spear.

"I'll go kick their asses!"

Cloud waved him down.

"No one was picking on her" he said.

Cid sat back down, but held his spear tightly.

Mikomi wasn't saying anything, so Yuri looked at Myou and Tohru.

"What happened?"

Myou fiddled with her fingers a bit.

"W-well, we ran into the village elders and they had a bone to pick with captain about the whole Itachi and Yumi incident"

Yuri made a face.

"Those old windbags have to make everything their business" she said.

"They can't help but stick their noses into other people's affairs"

Tohru nodded.

"I agree with that, but Captain put them in line and showed them whose boss"

Yuri grinned at that.

"That's my girl"

"And then they said something nasty to her" Bakuto added.

Yuri frowned.

"Like what?"

Myou went up to her and whispered what they said in her ear.

Yuri gasped horrified.

"They did not!"She cried.

Myou nodded.

"I'm afraid they did"

Yuri's eyes became as hard as ice.

"That does it!"

She went into the hall closest and pulled out her blood stained katana.

"It's time to go Iron Lotus on those sorry bastards!"

Myou and Tohru quickly ran up to her and pulled her sword out of her hands.

"You can't do that, Lady Yuri!" Tohru cried.

"While we're waiting for our next Hokage, they're in charge"

Myou nodded.

"He's right. They have the authority over the village now. Attacking them would be like attacking the Hokage, its treason"

Yuri had a creepy grin on her face.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that" she said.

Everyone raised an eyebrow at her.

"Huh?"

Yuri giggled and reached into her trench coat.

"You're right about them being in power when there's no Hokage…but when there's a temporary Hokage, they can't"

"What are you getting at?" Cloud asked.

"In situations such as this, the village is in desperate need for a Hokage" Yuri said.

"But, since it might take a while, they have a temporary Hokage so that the village has a leader. You can't have a ninja village without a leader"

"Ok, so if they elders aren't in charge, and there's a temporary Hokage, then who is it?"

Yuri beamed and pulled something out of her coat.

Everyone paled when they saw her holding the Hokage hat.

"Say hello to your new Temporary Hokage!"

/

**A/N: Uh oh, Yuri as Hokage, that's not good. **

**It seems that the elders really don't like Mikomi if they treat her like that, but at least she knows how to talk back at them.**

**Please review and tell me what you thought of it.**

**Ja ne**


	55. Attacked Once More

Chapter 55: Attacked Once More

**A/N: I'm back from working on my other stories! Sorry I haven't updated this one for a while, but I had a hard time coming up with the plot for this chapter. **

**Also, I just got Deviant Art account, so be expecting some pictures of our favorite characters, or if anyone out there is an artist, feel free to make some drawings of them and I'll post them up! (If I figure out how)**

**Now that Yuri is Hokage, she has to deal with the problems that are about to brew in Konoha. **

**Can she deal with it? Or will she lose what's left of her mind? (If there's anything left)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7. I just own my OC's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

**Enjoy!**

/

It had been two days since Yuri was made temporary Hokage.

Two long agonizing days listening to her barking out random orders and making up stupid rules.

Mikomi nearly jumped out the window when she first saw her godmother holding the Hokage hat.

While she was happy that another member of her family was Hokage, she just knew what Yuri would do with that amount of power in her hands.

She went so far as to threatening Yuri that she would dispose of her sake collection if she misbehaved while she was temporary Hokage.

She prayed that Naruto and Jiraiya would return soon with Tsunade.

/

Everyone was working on fixing the village.

Since AVALANCHE decided to stay behind to protect Mikomi, that meant they had to help her with repairs.

The young Jinchuriki was finally healed up and didn't have to wear all of those bandages.

"Now I don't look like a mummy anymore" she said.

She and Bakuto were in charge of fixing the roofs while Yuri supervised them.

Denzel and Marlene helped out too by giving them water and picking stuff up.

Yuri sighed as she sat in the shade.

"Ah, this is the life" she said.

Mikomi glared at her as she was sweating.

It was really hot out today and Yuri was just making it worse for them by sitting in the shade and drinking ice cold drinks.

"You could help out, you know" Bakuto said.

Yuri waved him off.

"Sorry, but as Hokage, I have to make sure you do your work correctly" she said.

Bakuto just glared at her.

He was about to say something, but Mikomi stopped him.

"Save it" she said.

"It's not worth it"

Bakuto just sighed and helped her lift up a large board that was going on one of the roofs.

While Yuri was watching them, Denzel and Marlene came over with a spear gun.

You tend to find a lot of weird things in Konoha.

"Hey, Aunt Yuri, look what we found" Denzel said.

Yuri saw that the spear gun was loaded with a spear and panicked.

She quickly snatched it from them.

"Careful, you two! That thing is loaded!"

As she said that, she accidentally pulled the trigger and fired off the spear.

It went right into the board that Mikomi and Bakuto were carrying and was just inches away from their faces.

Yuri's face paled when she saw that she nearly killed her goddaughter.

"Opps" she said.

"Looks like I am too"

Mikomi and Bakuto freaked out when they saw the spear go through the board and dropped it.

They screamed and grabbed onto each other without even realizing it.

When they calmed down, they looked at each other and quickly shoved each other away.

They both glared at Yuri who was laughing nervously.

"Some Hokage you are" Bakuto said.

Yuri just made a face at him and stuck out her tongue.

Bakuto just rolled his eyes and walked away.

Mikomi walked up to Yuri and snatched the spear gun from her.

"Stop horsing around and start doing your job as Hokage" she said.

Yuri just pouted.

"You're mean" she said.

Mikomi just made a face.

"No. I'm just being responsible when you should be"

She walked away to see what other tasks she should be taking care of.

/

Off on the border of the village, the group that 'Awase' had been working for were preparing for their attack.

The leader's face was obscured by the shadows of the trees.

He looked at his followers to see that they were ready for attack.

'Awase' had ditched her civilian clothing and down wore her ninja outfit.

It contrasted greatly with the one that she wore before.

She wore ice blue Anbu pants with a matching shirt.

An ice blue cloak covered this with a white ice flower on the back of it.

She had a white hunter ninja mask hanging from the side of her face.

Her expression was blank as she looked at her leader.

Her fake happy exterior vanished when she left the village.

The leader of their group wore an evil grin.

"The time has finally come" he said.

"Now that the village has no Hokage, this is the perfect opportunity for us to unleash our plans"

He stood up and towered over his followers who were kneeling before him.

"As the Shi Touken no Metsubo, we will not fail!"

The group cheered as they prepared to head out.

The leader's ice blue eyes shone in the dark as he headed towards the village.

"Soon my plans will unfold" he said.

/

Mikomi twirled the spear gun in a lazy sort of manner.

Since it wasn't loaded, she wasn't posing any threat by swinging it around.

She looked around the village to see that it wasn't as bad as it was a few days ago.

Most of the rubble was gone and a few of the buildings didn't look so dilapidated.

She sighed as she walked down the streets.

So much had happened in such a short amount of time.

Right after Orochimaru attacked the village, Itachi and Yumi showed up and declared that they were after her and Naruto.

Then Kakashi went into a coma for saving her.

And now Naruto and Jiraiya were off to find Tsunade.

Everything just seemed too quiet for her.

She spotted Tifa, Yuffie and Vincent up ahead.

She smiled at them and waved.

She still felt grateful that they had all chosen to stay here with her when they could have gone back to defeat Sephiroth.

They made her feel like she was important.

Yuffie's face lit up when she saw Mikomi.

"Komi-chan!"

She ran up to her and gave her a big bear hug.

Mikomi winced slightly.

Her skin was still tender from being healed, so Yuffie's hugs were hurting her.

Tifa saw this and tugged Yuffie away.

The Wutai ninja laughed nervously.

"Sorry, Komi-chan. I forgot that you just got your bandages off"

Mikomi just waved her off.

"It's fine" she said.

Vincent noticed the spear gun that she was holding and raised an eyebrow.

"Do I want to know?" he asked.

Mikomi just smiled nervously.

"I confiscated it from Yuri" she explained.

Vincent nodded.

Only she could use something like that.

Bakuto came up to them moments later with Yugito and the rest of the gang with him.

Cid had a bit of paint on his clothes from painting some of the buildings.

He lit the cigarette that was in his mouth and took a deep breath of nicotine.

Even the guys were a little frazzled that Yuri was the temporary Hokage.

"I think we just stepped into hell for letting Yuri go with this" Cid said.

"It's not like we had a choice" Red Xlll said.

"The elders decided on it"

Mikomi growled at the mention of the elders.

She was still pissed off about what they said to her.

"Relax, they'll keel over soon" Usagi said.

"_They aren't getting any younger" _Aerith added.

Barret stretched the kinks from his back.

"All of the repairing is starting to take its toll on me" he said.

"I'm meant to fight, not fix buildings"

Mikomi shrugged sheepishly.

"Hey, when you live in a ninja village, things like this are bound to happen" she said.

"It comes with the job description"

"Yeah, well your job description is staring to get to me" Cloud said.

"I don't know how much I can handle fixing things"

Mikomi let out a mock gasp.

"What?" she asked.

"The mighty Cloud Strife, who saved the planet from Sephiroth and Geostigma can't handle manual labor? I have to write this down on the calendar"

Cloud gave her a weak glare.

Even though Naruto was gone, Mikomi filled his place by being extra annoying.

Bakuto just sighed.

"I don't mind the manual labor" he said.

"But it's Yuri that I can't handle. Your brother better come back soon, because I can't stand another day of her being Hokage. I don't care if it's only been two days, that's way too long for me"

Yugito just patted her boyfriend on the back.

"It'll be alright, Bakuto" she said.

Bakuto just rubbed his face.

"Well…at least today can't get any worse" he said.

"Oh, Komi-chan!"

"Never mind, it just did"

Yuri came running up to them and tackled Mikomi in a hug.

Mikomi's face turned a light shade of blue.

"Yuri! You're choking me!"

Yuri quickly let her go and laughed nervously.

"Sorry" she said.

Mikomi just gave her a weak glare.

"What do you want, Yuri?" she asked.

"I came with some very important news" Yuri replied.

"What? Naruto and Jiraiya are back?" Cid asked hopefully.

Yuri shook her head.

"Nope. I just heard from Gai that Sasuke heard about Itachi and Yumi being here and he went after them"

Mikomi let out an unsteady breath.

She should have known that Sasuke would hear about his brother being in the village.

"Did anything happen?" she asked.

Yuri nodded.

Her face was grim.

"All I heard was that Itachi placed him under his Sharingan and that he's in a coma now. Gai's bringing him back as we speak"

Mikomi looked at the ground.

"First Kakashi, now Sasuke" she said.

"Why can't Itachi just go away and not bother anyone"

The guys were secretly cheering over the fact that Kakashi was out cold.

While they were grateful that he saved Mikomi, but they were happy about it because now he wouldn't be bothering Mikomi.

That was the only thing they were thankful of Itachi, despite him trying to kill Naruto and Mikomi.

Yuri patted Mikomi on the shoulder.

"Cheer up honey" she said.

"Once Tsunade gets here, she'll fix them up. But in the meantime, I'll do what I can as Hokage"

The guys shuddered at that.

They did not want to picture Yuri as their leader.

Bakuto just went pale.

Even though he wasn't afraid of anything, Yuri was one of the only few people that could give him nightmares.

Mikomi just ran a hand through her hair.

"It seems that lately everything has gone from bad to suck" she said.

Yuri just patted her on the shoulder.

"I know" she said.

"But just think, whenever something really bad happens, something really good comes after it"

Mikomi gave her a dull glare.

"Where did you hear that philosophy?" she asked.

Yuri just smiled.

"Your dad, silly"

Mikomi looked sad at the mention of her dad.

If he was still around, he would have made sure the village wasn't in shambles.

Yuffie pinched her cheeks when she saw her looking sad.

"Cheer up, Komi-chan" she said.

"Things aren't so bad"

She placed her hands on her hips and smiled.

"The village was already attacked once" she said.

"Who would do it again?"

Just then, a loud explosion erupted from the border of the village.

One of the walls that protected the village collapsed and fell to the ground.

Everyone looked horrified as they saw smoke in the air.

"Yuffie" Cid said.

"Next time keep your mouth shut"

Laughter echoed throughout the village as the smoke cleared away.

When it did, they saw a group of four people standing on top of one of the walls that didn't get destroyed.

Three of them covered themselves with cloaks, but one of them revealed themselves.

He appeared to be a middle aged man with long spiky black hair, and icy blue eyes.

He wore an all black leather suit that was covered by a black cloak with a Ying/Yang symbol on the back with red lining around it.

He grinned darkly as he saw the fear he put on everyone.

The villagers screamed as they ran away.

The man laughed again before raising his hands as if he were in power.

"People of Konoha!" he shouted.

"Your days of peace and prosperity have come to an end! Now is the time for war!"

Bakuto paled when he saw who it was.

He never thought that he would see this man ever again.

He growled deeply as his eyes turned gold, showing that Taimat was affected by it as well.

The man just grinned evilly as everyone panicked.

"You shall all now taste the wrath of Osore Masaki!"

/

**A/N: Uh oh, looks like Bakuto has a relative, and he doesn't appear to be a friendly.**

**Just what does the Osore want with Konoha? And how will Bakuto react to all of this?**

**You'll just have to review to find out.**


	56. Familar Bonds

Chapter 56: Familiar Bonds

**A/N: -_-….I guess I should start off by saying how sorry I really am for not updating this story in a while. You could say that I got caught up in my Kingdom Hearts fanfic. For those of you who still read this story, god bless you.**

**Now it seems that things have gone from bad to worse for our heroes. Who is this mysterious group and what do they want with Konoha?**

**We also learn a bit about Bakuto's past.**

**You'll just have to read to find out.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7, I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

**Enjoy!**

/

People screamed as they ran from the attack.

They thought the terror was over after Orochimaru attacked the village, but it would seem that this group of rouge ninja saw it as an opportunity to claim what was left of the village.

While everyone was running away from the attack, our heroes ran towards it.

Who was this Osore Masaki? And why did he want to attack the village?

It suddenly dawned on Mikomi that he shared the same last name as Bakuto.

As she took a glance at him, she saw murder written all over his face.

His cold, blue eyes seem to be on fire as he looked up at Osore.

"What is _he _doing here?" he hissed.

He pulled out his swords and ran down the streets.

Yugito ran after her boyfriend with worry etched on her face.

"Bakuto! Wait!"

Mikomi looked at Yuri.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked.

"I thought security was tighter than this"

The sannin's face looked grim.

"I thought so too, but it seems like there was a breach" she said.

She looked at the group.

"Spread out and target the enemy!" she ordered.

"I don't want you letting these bastards take one step further into our village. Kill them on sight if you have to! Those are your orders from the Hokage!"

Everyone nodded.

"Yes!"

They all spread out to tackle the problem that was inflicted on their village.

Yuri looked up at the wall that was destroyed by Osore.

"It looks like the Iron Lotus has returned" she said to herself.

/

Mikomi had to push past people as she ran through the streets.

Everyone was desperate to get away from the chaos that they didn't even realize that they were creating it.

She just shoved them along as she ran.

"Get to the safety shelters!" she ordered to passer bys.

How in the world could this happen?

She thought that after the incident with Orochimaru, security would be tighter.

"Then again, Itachi and Yumi managed to get through" Usagi pointed out.

Mikomi scoffed at her demon.

"_They used to live in the village, so they know all about the secret checkpoints" _she said.

When she heard an explosion up ahead, she quickly ran towards the source.

She pulled out her sword and one of her guns.

"Nobody trashes my village while I'm around" she said.

/

Osore smiled darkly at the chaos he created.

He just laughed as people ran past him in fear for their lives.

As he looked up at the Hokage tower, he noticed that someone had approached him.

He already knew who it was without turning around.

"It's been quite some time….Bakuto"

He turned around to see the young Cloud ninja.

"Quite a long time"

Bakuto's eyes were on the brink of turning silver as he looked at the man with hatred.

He gripped his swords to the point that his knuckles were turning white.

"What are you doing here?" he hissed.

"How are you still alive?"

Osore gripped his heart dramatically.

"Is this the welcome I get?" he asked.

"I would think that you would be happier to see me. You're mother surely would have"

At the mention of his mother, Bakuto flew at him.

"You bastard!"

He slammed his swords on Osore, only to have them blocked by his sword.

Osore 'tisked' at him.

"You haven't changed one bit" he said.

"You're still the same temperamental brat that would snap at anything"

Bakuto glared at him.

"Shut up!"

He jumped away and performed rapid handsigns.

"Fire ball jutsu!"

He launched a great big ball of fire at Osore.

The rough ninja just snorted.

"Please"

He swatted the fire away as if it were a baseball with his sword.

"Is that the best you can do?" he asked.

"Please tell me that you know other Justus than just that kiddie one you just did"

Bakuto growled and dug his nails into his palm.

How dare this man make a fool out of him?

He wasn't going to let him get away.

"You're going to pay for the crimes that you've committed!" he said.

"I won't let you take another step forward!"

Osore laughed crazily.

"You?" he asked.

"You're going to stop me, the fearsome Osore of the Masaki clan? Not only do you still act childish, you you're naïve as well"

Bakuto just glared at him and held his swords tightly.

"Bakuto!"

He whipped his head around to see Yugito running towards them.

Osore grinned.

"Oh? It looks like I have another toy to torment"

Bakuto's face paled as he saw his girlfriend running towards him.

There was no way that she could stand up to Osore.

She was strong, he admitted that, but she wasn't that strong.

"Yugito! Stay back!" he ordered.

Yugito shook her head as she continued to run towards him.

"No! I want to help!" she said.

"I promised you that I would be by your side, even in the most dangerous of times!"

Osore snickered.

"Oh? So she's you're lover?" he asked.

He held his sword up.

"How unfortunate for her"

He zipped past Bakuto and charged at Yugito.

The dragon Jinchuriki was as white as a ghost.

He quickly ran after the rough ninja before he could lay a finger on his girlfriend.

"Stop!"

Yugito skidded to a stop when she saw Osore's sword over her head.

Her mind told her to run, but her body suddenly felt like lead.

Osore grinned madly as he slammed his sword.

"Die!"

Debris covered the area as he made impact.

Bakuto skidded to a stop when he saw that.

"Yugito!" he screamed.

Osore just laughed, but stopped when he heard someone talking.

"Man, not only are you ugly looking, but your swing sucks. And you call yourself a ninja"

Osore and Bakuto turned around to see Mikomi standing behind them with Yugito in tow.

Osore raised an eyebrow when he saw the blond kunochi there.

"Huh?"

He looked back to where his sword was and saw that he just hit the ground.

Mikomi smirked.

"Clearly you've never dealt with a Konoha ninja" she said.

"Not only are we good with strategies, but we're the fastest"

Osore glared at her and pulled his sword up from the ground.

"You're going to pay for interrupting my fun, girl" he said.

Mikomi just scoffed.

"Oh, I'm shaky" she said.

"If you can't even swing that sword of yours properly, what makes you think you can take me down? If anyone is going to pay, it'll be you for attacking my village"

She got into a fighting stance.

"I don't know who you are and I don't care where you're from. If you've got the nerve to pull crap like this, then you better be prepared to pay the price"

Osore smirked and got into a fighting stance as well.

"I guess I have time to kill before I finish off Bakuto" he said.

"Try to make this fun for me. I bore so easily"

Mikomi loaded a round into one of her guns and aimed it at him.

"Don't worry. This'll be over before you know it" she said.

But before any of that could happen, she felt herself being dragged away really fast by an extreme force.

She looked up to see that Bakuto and carried her and Yugito off so they were away from Osore.

The Konoha Kunoichi glared at him.

"Hey! What gives!"

Bakuto glared at her.

"Just shut up and do as I say" he said.

"You shouldn't have gotten involved"

He took them somewhere in one of the forests and put them down.

When he did, both females chewed him out.

"What the hell is your problem?" Mikomi asked.

"Why won't you let us help you?" Yugito added.

Bakuto sighed deeply and held the bridge of his nose.

That was a really close call.

He had to admit, he was grateful that Mikomi appeared just in time to save Yugito, but he didn't want her involved with his affairs.

Nor did he want Yugito to.

"Listen you two" he said.

"As much as appreciate your help, I don't want you involve with this. This my fight, so stay out of it"

He received two nasty glares from them.

"The hell we'll butt out!" Mikomi snapped.

"That creep is attacking my village! I'm not going to let you fix up this mess"

Bakuto's eye twitched in annoyance.

"_Must she get involved with everything?" _he thought to himself.

He really didn't get to mull over that matter because they had company.

"So this is where you ran off to"

Everyone whipped their heads around to see Osore standing up in of the trees.

He grinned wickedly as he started at his prey.

"Honestly, Bakuto. I thought you could do better than this"

Bakuto stood protectively in front of Mikomi and Yugito.

He wasn't going to let them get killed over something that he had to do.

Osore cracked his knuckles and peered down at them.

"Since you want to play tag, I guess I'll comply" he said.

"You're it"

He performed rapid handsigns.

"Earth style! Earth Shatter Bomb!"

The ground around them shook violently and broke apart.

"Run!" Bakuto shouted.

As the group broke around them, the trio ran as fast as they could before they could before they would be consumed by the earthquake.

"What the hell, Bakuto!" Mikomi shouted.

"Wow the hell is this guy and why does he know you?"

"I don't think now is the right time to answer!" Bakuto retorted back.

"Instead of playing 20 questions, let's try to run for our lives!"

Trees fell over as the ground gave out on them.

It was as if the whole area suffered from some sort of landslide and was being sucked in.

They continued to run as Osore chased them.

"You can run, but you can't hide!" he shouted.

Bakuto just mentally cursed their luck as they ran in front of a dead end.

Osore chuckled as he slowly approached them.

"Looks like I win" he said.

Bakuto stood his ground and glared at them.

"Keep them out of this" he said.

"If you want to fight someone, then you can fight me. Just let them go"

Osore just chuckled.

"Sorry, but it wouldn't be as fun" he said.

He did a few more handsigns.

"Earth Style! Rock Avalanche!"

The cliff broke up and sent its debris falling.

Yugito, who was closer to the trees, was shoved out of the way while Bakuto grabbed Mikomi and pinned her to the wall and himself so she wouldn't get hurt.

The rocks covered them completely and entombed them.

Osore grinned.

"Don't worry" he shouted out towards them.

"I'll let you live for now. I want you to see the destruction that I inflict on this village"

He went off, not even caring the Yugito watched the whole thing.

She ran over to where Bakuto and Mikomi were trapped by the rocks.

If she didn't do anything soon, they would suffocate.

"Don't worry!" she shouted.

"I'll get help!"

She ran off to find Yuri and their friends so they could help her rescue the two Jinchuriki.

/

Meanwhile, Bakuto and Mikomi coughed as dust filled their lungs.

When the debris settled down, they slowly backed away from the wall.

Bakuto looked at his rival to make sure she was ok.

"You are alright?" he asked.

Mikomi nodded.

"Yeah"

Next thing Bakuto knew, the left side of his face stung from being slapped.

He glared at her through the dark.

"What the hell? I just saved your life and this is how you repay me?"

Mikomi glared back and him and pulled out an emergency glow stick from her weapons pouch.

"I wouldn't need to be saved if you have told me what the hell is going on!" she snapped.

"Who the hell was that guy and how does he know you?"

Bakuto just sat on a loose rock and looked away.

He knew they would be getting help soon, so it was pointless to try to escape.

"That's none of your business" he said.

Mikomi stomped her foot.

"The hell it isn't my business!" she snapped.

"That creep is attacking my village and terrorizing everyone! I have a right to know!"

She sat on a rock opposite from him and drilled him out.

"I'll admit that it I normally don't ask you about your stuff" she said.

"But since this creep knows about you, I have a right to know what's going on. Just tell me, and I won't ask anything about you again. Just tell me who that man is"

Bakuto sighed deeply before looking at his rival.

He could tell by her look that she was not going to back down at all.

She didn't have a right to know about his past and vise versa.

But since her village was involved with all of this, he knew that he had no choice.

He looked away and closed his eyes.

"He's my dad"

/

**A/N: Epic cliffhanger! So it seems that Bakuto has family, and not the good kind if you know what I mean. **

**If you want to know more about what's going on, please review.**

**I promise I'll update this series as soon as possible.**

**And thank you again for those who keep reading this!**

**JA ne!**


	57. A Night of Terror

Chapter 57: A Night of Terror.

**A/N: Since Halloween is almost here, I decided to do another holiday chapter. This time, it's more focused on Naruto since we don't see him a lot. **

**Happy Halloween!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

**Enjoy!**

/

Naruto glared up at Jiraiya.

For the past week, he had been bugging the toad sage to teach him a new jutsu, but he would keep refusing him.

"Come on, Pervy Sage! You promised my sister that you would train me!"

Jiraiya just sighed as he was doing his research.

He looked away from his telescope and gave his student a dull look.

"Listen kid, just because I promised your sister that I would train you, doesn't mean I have to do it right this second" he said.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have some research to finish"

He laughed like an idiot as he watched some girls bathing in the hot springs.

Naruto crossed his arms in frustration and stormed away.

"Stupid Pervy sage" he muttered.

"He thinks his stupid books are more important than his own student"

An evil grin spread across his face as he came up with an idea.

He whipped his head around and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"PEEPING TOM!" he cried.

He was rewarded to the sound of girls screaming and running to the changing rooms.

"No! My research!" Jiraiya cried.

The sage glared at his pupil.

"Naruto!" he cried.

Naruto just laughed and ran back to the house.

"If Pervy Sage won't train me, then maybe Nee-chan or Ni-san will"

He hurried back home where his family was waiting for him.

/

Cloud held the bridge of his nose to suppress a headache from starting.

The cause of it from starting: Yuri.

The sannin medic was humming an annoying tune as she went through some paper work.

Since it was almost Halloween, she was already dressed up for the occasion.

Today she was dressed up as a sexy nurse that consisted a short white dress and a little nurse hat top it all off.

She sighed as she went through a file that needed to be signed.

"This is so boring" she whined.

"I don't understand how 'Komi-chan can put up with this"

Said Kunochi was passed out on one of the couches.

She had the night shift for her Anbu squad and had to patrol the village till the crack of dawn.

She got back about fifteen minutes ago and fell asleep when she lay on the couch.

She didn't even bother to remove her Anbu uniform.

Cloud looked at her from where he sat in the living room.

It bothered him that a 19 year old girl had to do dangerous stuff like what the Black Ops did.

She should have a normal life and act like a normal girl.

She should she be hanging out with her friends and going out with her boyfriend.

"_Oh second thought, scratch that last part" _he thought.

Mikomi shifted in her sleep and sighed contently as she kept dreaming.

Cloud stood up from his seat and went over to her.

"I should put her to bed" he said.

"I wouldn't move her if I were you" Yuri warned.

"Even though she's asleep, 'Komi-chan is still alert. Just the slightest touch will make her go into attack mode"

Cloud looked at the sleeping ninja and slowly backed away from her.

He didn't want feel her wrath while she was still asleep.

When the front door opened, he turned around to see Naruto walking in.

"Naru-kun!" Yuri cried happily.

"How's your training with Jiraiya?"

Naruto just shrugged and sat on an arm chair.

"He's more busy working on his book than he is with training me" he said.

Yuri's face grew sour.

"I thought I told him to go somewhere that didn't have girls around" she snapped.

Naruto just pouted.

"Yeah, we obviously he didn't listen" he said.

He turned to Cloud hopefully.

"Ni-san, you're a really good fighter. Can you train me?"

The blond gave him a skeptical look.

"We've been over this before, Naruto" he said.

"I'm not an actual citizen of your village, so I can't train you. Even if I could, there's no way that it would happen"

Naruto made a face.

"But why?"

Cloud just sighed.

"My methods of fighting deal with using a giant sword that you can't even pick up. It's pointless to train you when you only use kunai knives"

Naruto jumped up from his seat and waved his hands frantically.

"I can practice with a different weapon! Please Ni-san, I want you to train me!"

He fell to the ground and gripped Cloud's leg.

"Please Ni-san!"

Cloud sighed and shook him off.

"The answer is no" he said.

Naruto pouted some more and got up.

"You're no fun" he said.

He went back to his seat and crossed his arms.

"Live with it" Cloud said.

"That's how I get by"

The sound of the front door slamming, jolted everyone.

Everyone watched as Jiraiya stormed into the room looking like he had just got out of a fight.

He had a black eye forming and his clothes were ripped up in certain areas. Apparently the girls from the hot springs found out it was Jiraiya that was peeking at them and beat him to a bloody pulp.

The toad sage glared daggers at his pupil.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" he snapped.

He didn't even bother to keep his voice down.

Yuri shushed him and pointed at their goddaughter.

"Be quiet, you idiot!" she hissed.

"Mikomi is sleeping"

She was thrilled that her cousin got beaten up. He deserved it. He should have known by now that their godchildren were more important than dirty hobbies such as writing trashy novels and selling them.

Jiraiya really didn't care that Mikomi was asleep at the moment. He was upset about getting caught at his favorite spot. Thanks to Naruto, he couldn't even go there anymore.

"I don't care whose asleep or if I should be quiet" he snapped at Yuri.

"If I want to get angry about something, then I should have the right to be. Don't tell me what to do woman"

Yuri's facial expression went from annoyance to downright pissed off.

The air around them suddenly grew cold as she stood up.

"What did you just say to me?" she hissed.

She stormed over to her cousin.

She didn't care that he was a few years older than her because she knew she could beat the crap out of him within seconds.

Jiraiya didn't back down when Yuri got in his face.

"You heard me" he said.

"I don't need to have you telling me what to do. I'm a grown man and I can make my own decisions"

"And how is getting caught peeping at a hot springs an adult decision?" Cloud asked.

Jiraiya rounded at him.

"Zip it, chicken head!" he snapped.

Cloud gave the sage that would make even a 1st Class SOLDIER shiver.

While this was going on, Mikomi stirred in her sleep.

Naruto gulped and hid behind Cloud's seat. He knew full well not to wake his sister up without suffering the consequences. He remembered that Sasuke woke her up while they were on a mission and she pretty much broke the Uchiha's arm in half. It was funny, considering that it happened to his rival, but it was scary knowing his sister was capable of that kind of power.

Yuri sighed in annoyance.

"Just keep your tone down" she said to Jiraiya.

"I'm not in the mood to bring you to the hospital"

Jiraiya just rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure it's not that big of a deal if Mikomi is woken up" he said.

"She's a ninja. She should be more alterative anyway"

He went up to where his goddaughter was sleeping.

"Here, I'll show you that there's no need to be afraid of her"

Yuri and Naruto paled as they saw Jiraiya reaching out to touch her.

They both waved their hands frantically.

"No! Don't do it!" they pleaded.

Jiraiya ignored them and started shaking Mikomi.

"Oi, wake up, Mikomi" he said.

The Kunoichi groaned and turned in her sleep.

Jiraiya sighed in annoyance and shook her a little harder.

"Come on, Mikomi. Wake up"

Mikomi finally woke up, but it was unpleasant for Jiraiya.

Mikomi went into alert mode and kicked Jiraiya between the legs and punched him in the face. The sage fell to the ground in a heap and curled into a ball from the pain.

Naruto snickered from where he was hiding while watching his sister look around in panic before calming down when she realized she wasn't in any danger.

"Who the hell woke me up?" she asked as she yawned.

Everyone pointed to Jiraiya, who was groaning in pain.

"Oh" the kunoichi said.

She stretched out the kinks in her back before sitting up properly.

"He should know better than to wake me up like that" she said.

"My squad and I are a little on edge from our patrol last night"

"Why? Did something happen?" Yuri asked.

Mikomi nodded.

"Myou and Thoru found a set of secret lairs underneath one of the medial labs near the hospital" she said.

"The whole place looked like it was some sort of torture room. There were creepy devices hanging from the walls and it smelled like death everywhere. I could have sworn I saw a few caskets lying around also. We were able to clear one of the labs, but we still need to take care of the other one"

Yuri shuddered and made a face.

"Those have got to be one of Orochimaru's old hideouts" she said.

"That snake had all sorts of labs hidden within the village to perform his experiments. I thought we found all of them, but I guess I was wrong"

Mikomi nodded.

"I already told the Hokage about this. We'll have it quarantined in no time, but until then, the one that is still dangerous is off limits"

Naruto looked interested.

"Cool! This is like something you would see in a horror film!" he said.

"Who knows what could be in there?"

The thought of finding scrolls filled with Jutsu's flashed through his mind.

If Jiraiya wouldn't train him, then maybe he could find something in there?

Mikomi gave him a stern look when she saw the smile on his face.

"Don't even think about it" she said.

"That place is a restricted zone. The whole area is filled with traps and we haven't taken half of them down. Going in there is dangerous"

Naruto pouted.

"But Nee-chan" he whined.

"There could be some really cool Justus down there!"

"There's nothing cool about those type of Jutsus" Jiraiya rasped.

He managed to pull himself up to a chair so he wouldn't be on the ground. It seemed that he had learned his lesson about not waking his goddaughter up. She had a real sharp kick when she slept.

"Orochimaru is known for creating forbidden Justus" he said.

"Learning those kinds of skills are forbidden in this village. It's a crime"

"You don't want to learn those things anyway" Yuri said.

"Just train with Jiraiya"

Naruto made a face.

"I would if he would just train with me!" he said.

Jiraiya made a face.

"I'll train you as soon as my schedule is open" he said.

"Stop being so impatient"

Naruto stomped his foot.

"You're day is only full because you spend it by checking out girls who aren't even interested in you!" he snapped.

"You're free but you just don't want to help a genin in need!"

Jiraiya just gave his godson a dull look.

"Now listen here, you"

As teacher and disciple were bickering with each other, Mikomi got up from her seat and headed upstairs.

"I can't sleep through all of this" she muttered to herself.

/

Later that night, Naruto snuck out of his room and checked to see if anyone was out in the hallway.

When he saw no one, he smirked.

He tip toed quietly down the stairs until he reached the bottom floor.

He had it up to here with everyone telling him what to do and pushing his training aside. If they weren't going to take him seriously, then he was going to do something that would gather their attention.

He went over to the coffee table in the living room and scanned over the papers his sister went over before.

When he found what he was looking for, he picked it up and stashed it in his orange jacket.

"I'll show Nee-chan that she can't baby me around" he said to himself.

He opened the front door and shut it as quietly as possible before running down the deserted street to his destination.

/

Jiraiya stirred from his sleep when he heard the front door closing.

Opening up his tired eyes, he checked the time to see that it was around 1 in the morning.

Holding back a yawn, he got up from his bed to see who was up at this hour to go out on a little night stroll.

He checked the chakras that were within the household, and noticed that he couldn't sense Naruto's.

Growing confuses, he went to his godson's bedroom and found that his bed was empty.

"What is he doing up at this hour?" he asked himself.

He went downstairs and noticed the papers on the coffee table.

As he looked through them, he noticed that one of them was missing from the pile.

The location of Orochimaru's lair that still wasn't quarantined.

Jiraiya didn't need to think too hard about what was going on.

Naruto went to head to Orochimaru's lair to try to find something that would help with his training.

Swearing under his breath, he ran upstairs and barged into Mikomi's room.

"Wake up, Mikomi!" he cried.

The kunoichi jumped in shock from being woke up.

Nanaki and Cat Sith fell off the bed from the commotion and landed on the floor with a thud.

"Goodness, lad. Couldn't you have knocked?" Cat Sith winded.

Nanaki groaned as he crawled back up on the bed.

"There's no time for that, talking cat" Jiraiya said.

Mikomi rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"What the hell is the matter, Jiraiya?" she yawned.

"It's 1 in the morning"

"Naruto's gone!" Jiraiya cried.

That woke Mikomi up right away.

"What?" she cried.

"He must have headed to one of Orochimaru's labs that weren't checked yet" Jiraiya said.

"The paper that held all the information isn't on the table"

Mikomi swore under her breath and jumped out of bed.

She didn't bother to change her outfit and just put her shoes on in a hurry while grabbing her weapons as she ran out of her room.

"Why didn't I put those away?" she asked herself.

She looked at Jiraiya.

"Go wake Yuri up and tell her what's going on" she said.

"I'm going after Naruto"

The toad sage nodded and quickly headed to his cousin's bedroom.

Nanaki and Cat Sith ran after Mikomi and she stormed down the stairs.

"Wait for us!" Cat Sith cried.

The three of them ran out into the cold night air in search of their orange clad friend.

/

Naruto stared at the entrance that lead to Orochimaru's lab.

He had a hard time finding it, since the door blended with the hospital wall.

He looked at the paper that he stanched and tried to make out the words in the dark.

"I can't read what this thing says" he muttered.

"I think this is the safe one that nee-chan cleared out, but I can't find that on this"

He simply shrugged and put in back in his pocket.

"Oh well" he said.

"It's not like I'll run into anything that's too dangerous"

He opened the door and peered inside to see a set of stone steps that headed down.

It was so dark within the stairway, that he couldn't even make out the first three steps.

Pulling out a flash light, he turned it on and walked down the stairs.

"Let's see what's so scary about this place that it even creeps Nee-chan out"

As he walked further down the pathway, he didn't realize that he activated the lab's security mechanisms.

/

Cat Sith trembled when they made it to the entrance of the lab.

"This place gives me the willies and we haven't even entered it yet!"

"That's Orochimaru for you" Mikomi said.

"Strikes fear within you and he doesn't even have to be here to do it"

When she heard the sound of bushes rustling, she whipped out her sword and held it out.

Yuri held her hands up defensively as she looked at her goddaughter.

"Relax, it's me" she said.

"I came here to help you find Naruto"

Vincent and Jiraiya appeared next to her.

"What are you doing here, Vinnie?" Mikomi asked.

"He heard what was happening and decided to help" Jiraiya said.

"He has better eyesight, so he could probably see things that we can't in that dark lab"

Mikomi had to admit that was a good idea.

But she didn't know if taking him down to a creepy lab was such a good idea. She knew all too well about his past dealing with Hojo and being his experiment.

She didn't want to bring up bad memories.

"You sure you want to come, Vinnie?" she asked.

"We're going into a lab. I don't want to bring up any bad memories"

She got her answer when the Ex-Turk pulled out Cerberus and undid the safety.

"Instead of worrying about me, why don't you worry about rescuing your brother" he said deeply.

"My past isn't important right now"

Mikomi nodded slowly.

"Ok then"

She pulled out a flashlight and peered down at the steps.

"Let's go. And watch where you step" she warned.

"Orochimaru probably rigged this place with traps so nobody could get through"

She led the way and slowly walked down the steps while the rest of them followed.

Nanaki pressed his nose to the ground and tried to find Naruto's scent.

As they walked, Mikomi pulled out one of her guns and loaded a few rounds in it.

"Naruto, when I get my hands on you, you're going to be in so much trouble"

/

"ACHOO!"

Naruto sniffed after he sneezed.

"Man, this place is dusty" he said.

He looked at all of the cobwebs that hung from the ceiling and the dust he kicked up whenever he walked.

"It's like this place has been abandoned for years"

He walked down the dark hallway until he reached a wall that contained jars.

They were covered in dust that hidden the artifacts that they contained.

"I wonder what's in here?"

He used his sleeve and wiped the dust away on the first jar that he went to.

He made a face when he saw a two headed snake preserved in some type of solution.

"Gross"

He checked the other jars and found them to be similar.

The next one contained a frog that was cut open.

"Boring"

The one next to it was filled with eyeballs.

"Creepy"

Next to the eyes was a dried, severed hand.

"Scary"

The last jar made him scream and drop his flashlight.

The young ninja trembled when he saw a severed head floating in the solution that filled the jar.

He slowly grabbed his flashlight and made the light go all over the place as he still trembled.

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" he asked himself.

"I feel like I've just stepped into a horror film"

When heard a low moan coming from deep within the darkness, he looked down the hallway.

"I wonder what that was?"

Taking one last glance at the creepy jars, he headed towards the direction the sound came from.

/

"What was that?" Jiraiya asked.

They heard someone screaming up ahead, but it was muffled.

"That had to be Naruto" Yuri said.

"I'd recognize that yell anywhere. Something must have scared him"

"Do you think there's someone down here besides us?" Mikomi asked.

Nanaki sniffed the air.

"I don't smell anyone else besides us and Naruto" he said.

"There were others, I would have picked them up by now"

"Plus, we would have sense foreign chakra" Vincent said.

Mikomi sighed and aimed her flashlight down the hallway.

"Just walking down this hallway gives me the creeps" she said.

"I'm surprised Naruto isn't scared out of his wits by now"

"Knowing that knuckle head, he will eventually" Jiraiya said.

The sound of something hissing caught everyone's attention.

Looking down, they saw a King Cobra slithering by them and flapped its hood opening before hissing again.

Vincent pulled out Cerberus and fired at it.

The Turk looked in satisfaction when he saw three bullet holes in the lifeless reptile.

"What the hell is a snake doing here?' Yuri asked.

Jiraiya gave his cousin a dull look.

"Have you not met our teammate?" he asked.

Nanaki sniffed the air again.

"Naruto's scent is starting to fade. We should move before we lose it"

Cat Sith shivered as they continued walking.

"I'm not going to sleep well after this" he said.

Vincent took the front this time and held his gun up in case they ran into anymore unfriendly guests.

/

Naruto finally came into an open area within the lab.

The whole place appeared to be some type of dome and had door lining the walls.

Upon a closer inspection, he noticed that they were bolted shut and that they would only open if a special device was pressed.

He noticed a table standing off to the side and went over to it.

Placing his flashlight down, he saw papers scattered all over the desk.

They were all yellowed with age and were ripped in some places.

"I wonder what these are?"

He picked up a few pages and looked them over.

Most of them had writing on it that was hard for Naruto to read.

"Stupid cursive" he said.

"I can't read it"

One page held a diagram of some sort and appeared to be a map of the underground sewer lines. There was writing on some spots while there were 'X's on certain locations.

He figured this map was important, so he stuffed it in his jacket.

He looked around the area to see there really wasn't much to it except the doors.

"This is boring" he said to himself.

"I was expecting something scarier than this. I walk all this way just to find locked doors that don't have a key to them. This sucks"

He slammed his fist on the desk and caused his flashlight to roll off and land on the floor.

The light from the small device shinned on a stone that was sticking up from the ground.

Naruto walked up to it and examined it.

"Maybe this opens the door?"

He stepped on it and was rewarded to the sound of a lock opening.

Turning back to the doors, he smiled when he saw them slowly open.

"Finally! Now I can see if this place holds any special treasures"

He ran towards the door that was closest to him.

Just as he was about to enter it, he heard a noise coming from within it.

He skidded to a stop and looked within the darken room.

The noise sounded like a very low grunt that had a gurgle to it.

Slowly reaching for his flashlight, Naruto aimed the light within the room.

"Hello?" he asked.

"Is anyone there?"

If he just opened up a prison cell, then he was screwed.

When he saw some shuffling, he took a step back and pulled out a kunai.

His heart raced as he heard the grunting noise again.

"W-who ever you are, come out so I can see you" he ordered.

He heard feet shuffling along the floor as someone walked from the doorway.

When Naruto saw who came out of the room, he dropped his flashlight in fear.

The figure let out a gurgled grunt as its eyes targeted Naruto.

The blond looked at the person's face and let out a loud, high-pitched scream.

/

Mikomi's heart raced when she heard Naruto scream.

"Naruto!"

She and Vincent went flying down the hallway, while her godparents , Nanaki and Cat Sith followed after her.

They could see a light up ahead.

"He must be there" Mikomi said.

They suddenly heard an animalistic roar coming from up ahead.

"What the hell was that?" Vincent asked.

"It must be one of Orochimaru's experiments" Yuri said.

"When he fled the village, he didn't have time to destroy his work and just sealed them up. Naruto must have triggered their seals and let them loose"

Mikomi's skin went white.

If Orochimaru's little pets were on the loose, then Naruto was fresh meat for them.

"Hurry!" she cried.

Vincent loaded a set of explosive shells within Cerberus and ran ahead of them.

He wasn't going to let Naruto be killed by someone's monstrosity.

/

Naruto threw a kunai at the figure that came out of the locked room.

It seemed that Orochimaru did have prisoners, but they weren't alive.

The blond looked over his shoulder to see the monstrosity chasing after him as he ran.

He knew this was a human at one point, but after being sealed up for so many years, it lost its humanly features and was nothing more than a mess.

The skin on its body was stuck to its bones and almost looked like a skeleton. The mouth was ripped clean from its face and only showed its teeth. One of the eyes were at an angle and was rotting from decay. The hair on its head was pretty much gone and only a few chunks were still hanging on thinning skin.

The monster, or what Naruto liked to call a zombie, ran after him with a slight limp in its step.

Its arms hung limply at its sides as it ran.

It would let out these animalistic grunts and roars as it targeted the blond.

Naruto looked back in front of him to see where he was going and skidded to a stop when he saw more zombie like beings running towards him.

Not wanting to be chase by these things anymore, he ran to the side and ran up the wall using chakra.

He laughed when he saw the zombies growling and clawing at the wall to try to grab him.

He stuck his tongue out at them and made a face.

"You can't catch me!" he cried.

The main zombie that was chasing him before appeared to be a lot smarter and started to climb the wall by using the cracks in the walls as leverage.

Naruto panicked and tried to run to the other side of the room, but he saw that the other zombies followed the leader's example and started climbing as well.

He threw a few kunai knives at them, but they just embedded themselves in their rotting flesh without any effect to them.

Naruto gulped and tried to climb up higher, but he saw there was no more room.

He was trapped.

He screamed when one of the zombies grabbed at his ankle.

"Get off me!"

The zombie growled as drool and bile dribbled out of its mouth.

Naruto clawed at the wall when it started to drag him down and held onto a crack for dear life.

"HELP!" he screamed.

The zombie let out an animalistic growl before its head was blown off by a set of bullets.

Naruto looked to the ground to see Mikomi and Vincent had run into the room.

Vincent's gun had smoke coming from the barrel, indicating that he was the one who shot the zombie.

"Nee-chan! Vinnie!" he cried.

Mikomi was relieved to see that he was alright, but once this was all over, he was in big trouble.

"Stay where you are" Vincent ordered.

"Don't move until we got rid of these things"

Jiraiya and Yuri ran in moments later and grimaced at the sight of the zombies.

"What in the world are those things?" Cat Sith cried.

"Corpses" Yuri said as she pulled out her crossbow.

"Orochimaru was experimenting with a jutsu that would bring the dead back to life, but the end result was turning the dead into zombies. He probably didn't have time to kill them, so he locked them up instead"

Jiraiya scowled as he went into a fighting stance.

"So now we have to clean up his mess" he stated.

Naruto gripped to the wall for dear life as he watched his friends and family face off against the zombies.

The zombies looked at their new prey with hunger.

Drool dropped from their mouths in gross, disgusting manner.

Mikomi made a face and looked at Vincent.

"I hope you have enough bullets on you" she said as she propped her sword on her shoulder.

"Because zombie season has just opened"

Vincent just grunted as he held up Cerberus.

Nanaki and Cat Sith slowly edged towards the wall so they wouldn't get caught up in the fight.

Naruto just watched as everyone faced each other off. No one said anything and no one moved.

The only sounds that could be heard were the grunts and gurgles coming from the zombies.

And then in a flash, everyone moved and attacked.

Vincent fired at each zombie that came at his way and decapitated them with a shower of bullets.

Mikomi slashed through the living dead with her trusted sword with ease and grace. She thought nothing felt better than the feel of killing something with he own blade.

Yuri teamed up with Jiraiya and fired off her crossbow while Jiraiya used his fists and crushed the zombies skulls.

He grinned when he heard the sickening sound of bones cracking under his fist.

When the zombies were defeated, they burst into ash and were finally put to rest after being forced to stay alive from Orochimaru's vile experiments.

When the fight was over, Naruto slowly climbed down the wall and looked at his sister.

Mikomi had a relieved smile on her face when she saw Naruto was alright.

"Naruto"

The blond smiled brightly and ran towards his sister.

"Nee-chan!"

Everything seemed fine and wonderful. The zombies were gone and no one was hurt.

Naruto kept smiling as he ran towards his sister, but that smile came to a halt when a fist landed right into face.

The blond grabbed his face and howled in pain.

"My face!" he cried.

Mikomi had fire coming off of her as she held her fist up.

Everyone backed away slightly when they felt the angry chakra coming off of her.

Mikomi stormed up to her brother and grabbed him by the front of his jacket and shook him like a rag doll.

"I told you to stay away from this place!" she barked.

"I said a thousand times that this place was dangerous and you could get killed. And what do you do when I turn my back? You come here anyway and almost get eaten by a hoard of zombies! You are so lucky that I found you before it was too late! Do you know how worried sick you made me? I was so scared something happened to you!"

Naruto's eyes spun from being shook so much.

He knew he deserved this, but he wished that his sister would lash out to brutally.

"I'm sorry, Nee-chan" he said sheepishly.

"I promise I won't do it again"

"You damn right you won't" Mikomi snapped.

"You're grounded for the next three months. And no ramen either"

Naruto's eyes bugged out.

"What?" he cried.

Mikomi glared at him and placed her hands on her hips.

"You heard me" she said.

"I'm relieved to see that you didn't get hurt. But you disobeyed my orders by coming here, when I told you how dangerous it was. When will you learn to listen to me when I know better than you?"

Naruto waved his arms frantically.

"But, Nee-chan" he whined.

"I was only trying to find things to help me train. I even found this cool looking map"

He pulled out the map that he found earlier and showed it to his sister.

Mikomi raised an eyebrow and took the paper from him.

When her eyes scanned the map, they went huge.

"Holy crap" she breathed.

"What is it?" Yuri asked.

She, Jiraiya and Vincent peered over her shoulder to look at the map.

Jiraiay let out a low whistle as he looked at it.

"Well, I'll be damed" he said.

"What's this map to?" Vincent asked.

Yuri smirked darkly.

"These are locations to Orochimaru's other labs" she said darkly.

"That stupid must have gotten lost in the village's sewer line and had to draw out a map to remember the locations to his other labs. And the fact that we have this map means we can find the other labs and see what else he was hiding from the village"

She smiled at Naruto.

"Good job, Naru-kun" she said.

"You just saved us a lot of trouble by finding this"

Naruto laughed.

"Does that mean I'm not grounded anymore?" he asked.

Mikomi gave him a dark glare.

"Don't push it" she said.

"You're still grounded, but I'll take back the no ramen punishment. You still shouldn't have come here"

Naruto pouted.

"Meanie" he said.

"You brought this upon yourself, so you have no one to blame but yourself" Mikomi replied.

She placed the map in her pocket and looked at the others.

"Since we found Naruto, I think it's time to head home" she said.

"I need my beauty sleep"

After a long night, the group headed back home, where their comfy beds waited for them.

/

Mikomi sighed tiredly as her head hit the pillow.

Her eyes grew heavy from fatigue and from being woken up during the time.

Nanaki yawned as he got himself comfy at the foot of the bed.

"At least we found Naruto before it was too late" he said.

Cat Sith walked up to the pillows and plopped himself on them.

"That boy almost made me use one of my nine lives tonight" he said.

"He is such a trouble maker"

Mikomi just grunted as she pulled the covers over her.

"Don't remind me" she said.

She was about to fall asleep, her bedroom door opened.

Sighing in annoyance, she turned to see who would interrupt her sleeping.

She was surprised to see Naruto standing by the door in his pajamas.

His dog sleeping cap rested on his head in a lazy manner.

Mikomi sat up on her bed and looked at her brother.

"What's wrong, Naruto?"

The blond fiddled with the sleeves of his shirt as he looked at the ground.

"Can I stay with you for the night?" he asked.

"I'm kind of scared of what happened tonight"

Mikomi gave her brother a sympathetic look.

Even though she was mad at him, she just couldn't stand to see his fragile side.

It reminded her of when they were little and the village would pick on them.

Scooting over, she made room for him to sleep on.

"Come on" she said.

Naruto smiled and jumped in bed with her.

When they got settled in, Naruto looked at her.

"I'm sorry, Nee-chan" he said quietly.

Mikomi just looked at him and held him close to her.

"Just don't do it again" she said.

"You might not be so lucky next time"

Naruto nodded and snuggled into his sister's embrace.

Even though he was scared from what happened back in Orochimaru's lab, he felt safe within his sister's embrace.

He hoped that he wouldn't have to experience another night of terror as he did with this night.

/

**A/N: I know that was a sucky ending, but I didn't know how else to end it. I hope you enjoyed this little holiday chapter special. The main story will return in the next chapter, so stay tuned.**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Ja ne**


	58. Winter Wonderland

Chapter 58: Winter Wonderland

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back with another holiday special! This is my Christmas present for Bakuto since he's helped me with this story and been there since the beginning.**

**Hope you all have a Happy Holidays!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his.**

**Enjoy!**

/

Winter had come once again in the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And that in turn meant that snow came with it.

The whole village was covered by a blanket of pure white that it made look like a frozen wonderland.

The younger generation enjoyed it while the older were frustrated with it.

Mikomi was one of those frustrated individuals.

"I just don't understand the weather anymore" she said.

She pulled her scarf tightly around her face as she rubbed her gloved hands together.

Yuri just laughed as they walked down the street.

"You've been living here all your life and you still can't handle the cold" she said.

Mikomi glared at her godmother.

"We're in the middle of the fricken land of fire! How does it snow in the land of fire? If it was in the land of water, then yeah I'd get it. But here? Sometimes I think mother nature is just screwing with me"

Yuri just munched on the sweet potato that she got at a street vendor. If there was one thing that Konoha was known for, it was that you always ate hot sweet potato on a cold, winter day.

As they were walking, they watched children having snow ball fights.

"I remember that you used to love having snow ball fights with Minato and Kushina" Yuri said.

"You just couldn't wait until it snowed"

Mikomi made a face.

The snow held a lot of memories for her. She remembered she would always have so much fun with her parents. But now that they were gone, it was just a sore reminder of what she lost.

Yuri saw her face and laughed nervously.

"Right. Bad topic"

Mikomi just sighed and didn't say anything as they walked.

She really wanted to go home and see if Bakuto would make her some of his homemade chicken soup.

"_Soup is the best remedy for cold, winter days" _she thought.

"Not to mention downright tasty" Usagi added.

"_She does have a point" _Aerith added.

Mikomi smiled as she listened to her friends talk. It was nice to hear their voices every now and then.

"Hey, you two!"

Cloud and Tifa came strolling over.

Cloud really didn't dress for the weather except added another sleeve to his outfit and a black scarf around his neck.

Tifa pretty much wore her outfit, only she had medical tape wrapped around her exposed arms and legs and she wore a black trench coat that Yuri gave her.

Mikomi smiled when she saw them together.

"_They make such a cute couple"_

"Hey, Cloud, Tifa. What are you doing out and about?" Yuri asked.

Tifa shrugged as she held Cloud's arm.

"Just enjoying the scenery" she said.

"The village looks beautiful around this time of year"

"Plus I'm trying to avoid Naruto" Cloud said.

"He's declared war on me and challenged me to a snowball fight"

Mikomi suddenly noticed that there were bits of snow sticking to his spiky hair.

She held back a snicker. She thought it was cute that her younger brother wanted to play with Cloud. The chocobo head was practically his fighting dummy.

Tifa giggled.

"It was so cute" she said.

"Naruto kept hitting him with snowballs and Cloud had to run and hide so he wouldn't get hit. I've never seen him so terrified of a 13 year old"

Cloud's eye twitched.

"There's nothing normal with that boy" he said.

"He acts like he's on crack half the time"

"I think they put something in the ramen at Ichiraku" Mikomi said.

"I told mom to not eat the stuff when she was pregnant with him, but she wouldn't listen to me. And now look at the end results"

Cloud resisted the urge to shudder.

"Whatever it is, he's getting to me"

The girls just laughed at him.

"Aww, don't be like that" Yuri said.

"Naruto just loves you. You're like the big brother that he never had"

Cloud didn't say anything, but they could see his face going slightly pink.

"Lady Yuri!"

Shoka came running towards them with an irritated look on her face.

"Hey, Shoka. What's up?"

Shoka growled in annoyance.

"You're supposed to be at the hospital!" she barked.

"Everyone needs there flu shot and we're short on staff. As head of the medical unit of the village, you're suppose to run it, not me"

Yuri laughed nervously.

"Oh yeah. Must have slipped my mind"

Shoka sighed in annoyance and dragged the sannin towards the hospital.

"I swear, sometimes I think you're 5 instead of 50. Why a 20 year old has to mother you around is beyond me"

Yuri just waved at the trio before she was whisked away.

Mikomi sighed and brushed the snow off her hair.

"Might as well head home" she said.

"There's no point in standing out here and catching a cold"

"We were just about to head that way ourselves" Tifa said.

"Let's walk together. It'll be better than doing it alone"

Mikomi smiled softly.

Cloud and Tifa were always looking out for her.

Just as they were about to walk, a snowball hit Cloud in the face.

"Ah ha! Found you!"

They all looked up to see Naruto on one of the buildings with an armful of snowballs.

The knuckle headed ninja laughed wickedly as he looked at Cloud.

"Ni-san! I hereby challenge you to a snowball fight to the death!" he declared.

He held up a rather huge snowball in his hand.

"Son of a bitch" Cloud muttered.

He started running as Naruto threw snowballs at him.

Naruto just laughed as he cashed after Cloud.

"I'm the master of the snow!" he cried.

Cloud just swore as he ducked from the snowballs that Naruto threw at him as he ran.

Mikomi and Tifa laughed their asses off as they watched Cloud run away.

"He's fought Sephiroth, defeated a few remnant brothers, found a way to cure Geostigma and yet he can handle a little boy" Tifa said.

"Naruto strikes fear even to the most deadly ninjas known to man" Mikomi said.

The two girls just walked back to the house before they became even more cold.

/

As the two girls were walking, they saw Kakashi walk past them.

When the scarecrow saw his old teammate, he skidded to a stop and quickly walked over to Mikomi.

"Mikomi!"

The kunochi turned around and blushed when she saw Kakashi coming towards her.

"HI, Kakashi. How are you doing?" she managed to say.

Kakashi just shrugged and ran a hand through his hair.

"Oh, I'm getting by" he said.

"The cold isn't really helping out though"

Mikomi giggled at that. She had to admit that she thought he really looked cute wearing a yellow scarf around his neck and wore full fingered gloves on his hands.

Tifa smirked knowing how much Mikomi liked him. She thought they were cute together and would make a great couple.

"So what are you up to, Kakashi?" she asked.

Kakashi blushed slightly as he looked at her then at Mikomi.

"U-uh. W-well I really wasn't doing anything tonight and I was wondering if you would like to hang out with me or something"

Now Mikomi's face was really bright red.

Did she hear correctly? Was Kakashi asking her out of a date?

"_This is too good to be true!" _she thought.

She was so shocked that she didn't know what to say. She wanted to say yes, but she was a afraid that she would make herself look like an idiot if she did.

Luckily Tifa noticed this and decided to spare her friend any humiliation.

"She would love to" she said.

"She's been stuck in the house all week. I think going out for the night is just the thing for her"

Kakashi eyes curled up to show that he was smiling.

"Great! Then I'll come pick you up later tonight, okay?"

All Mikomi could do was nod her head.

Kakashi just nodded in return and walked off.

Tifa giggled when she Mikomi was frozen like a statue.

Grabbing her hand, she started pulling her back towards the house.

"Come on. Let's get you ready for you big date tonight"

Mikomi didn't say anything as she walked.

The only thing that rang in her mind was that she was going on a date with Kakashi.

/

Meanwhile, Cloud was trying his best to hide from Naruto. The poor guy kept getting hit with snowballs that he was starting to get freezer burn.

He looked around one of the empty side roads that lead into the market place and walked along it.

He grumbled as he tried to brush the snow that was sticking to his hair.

"Damn, Naruto" he growled.

"I swear that kid is on crack or something"

As he was walking, he went past a snowman that made him stop in his tracks.

To a bystander, it would have looked like any ordinary snowman. It had the standard face made out of coal and button and even had a scarf. But the one thing that stood out was that it had whiskers on its face and wore a Konoha headband.

"What the hell?"

Cloud slowly walked over to the snowman to get a better look.

As he looked at it more closely, he noticed it looked a lot like Naruto.

His eyes bugged out when he realized the scenario that he was it, but was too late.

Naruto burst through the snowball with snowballs in hand.

"Got ya!" he cried.

Cloud didn't hesitate and started running.

"Shit!"

Naruto laughed and chased after him.

"You won't escape me!"

Cloud ducked when a snowball was aimed for him and kept running.

He had never been more afraid of a kid as he was with Naruto at that point.

/

"Oh, Komi-chan! You look so cute!" Yuffie cried.

Mikomi blushed slightly as she looked at herself in the mirror.

Tifa had told Yuffie ,Yugito and Myou about her little date tonight and they insisted that they dress her up.

Cid, Barret and Vincent weren't thrilled about the idea of her going out with Kakashi, but they knew they wouldn't have a say in the manner.

Myou finished putting on some makeup and looked at her captain. She had stars in her eyes as she saw her idol wearing her latest fashion piece.

Mikomi wore a pair of tight fitting black pants with black heeled boots covering them. She wore a nice fitting red dress shirt that reached down to her waist and looked more like a dress with a black belt tied around it. Her hair was curled slightly at the end and she wore a red headband with a black beaded snowflake sewn into it (courtesy of Thoru) and to top it all off, she had her nails painted a nice shade of red.

Myou was squealing as she viewed her handy work.

"Oh captain! You look gorgeous!" she cried.

Mikomi laughed nervously as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Don't you think this is a bit much?" she asked.

"Are you kidding?" Yugito asked.

"When Kakashi sees you, he won't take his eyes off you for a second"

Mikomi blushed.

"Thanks for helping me, you guys"

"It's no problem" Tifa said.

"Out of all of us, you deserve to be happy"

Bakuto entered the room after he knocked on the door.

"Sorry to interrupt your little girl time, but you need to come down" he said.

"Kakashi's here and the guys are grilling him out. I think you might want to save him before they kill him"

Mikomi quickly ran downstairs to see the guys surround Kakashi and gave him an authoritative look.

Kakashi was sweating bullets when he saw Vincent held his gun out and aimed it at him.

"You better keep yer hands to yerself at all times" Cid.

"And you better bring her home on time" Vincent said darkly.

Kakashi nodded nervously.

"I'll have her home by 10 p.m. sharp" he said.

"You damn right you will" Barret said as he flexed his metal arm.

Tifa and Yuffie shoved the guys away before they do anymore harm to Kakashi.

"Knock that off" Tifa said.

"We don't need you scaring Mikomi's date before she even leaves"

The guys looked at Mikomi and went wide eyed. They looked she looked so lovely in her outfit.

They quickly rounded on Kakashi.

"You let anything happen to her and you're going to have three angry men waiting for you" Cid warned.

Kakashi nodded quickly.

"I won't let anyone touch a single strand of hair that's on her head" he said.

Mikomi walked over to Kakashi.

"Shall we be going?" she asked.

Kakashi nodded and held his arm out for her to link to.

Mikomi's face went as red as her shirt as they walked out of the house.

Tifa stood near the door and waved them off.

"Have fun!" she called.

Bakuto looked out the window and shook his head.

"Do you think Cloud knows?" he asked.

If the blond knew about this, then he would have field day.

Tifa waved him off.

"Oh, he doesn't need to know everything that Mikomi does" she said.

"What he doesn't know, won't hurt him"

/

"Achoo!"

Cloud covered his mouthed when he sneezed.

"Must be getting a cold" he said to himself.

He kept looking to see where Naruto might be. Since he disguised himself as a snowman, then who knows where he was hiding this time.

He rounded a corner and nearly flinched when he was the road was lined up with Naruto snowmen.

His eyes grew cold with determination.

"So that's how you want to play, huh?"

Pulling out a couple of kunai knives, he gripped them within his fingers and started at the snowmen.

He didn't know where Naruto was hiding, but he was going to find out soon.

Zipping down the street, he flung the knives and watched as they were impaled into the snowmen.

When he didn't see Naruto jumping out of any of them, he continued to run down the street and demolished the frozen traps.

"Come out a fight like a man!" he called out.

While he was destroying the snowmen, Naruto stood up on one of the buildings and watched the whole scene unfold.

He held back his laughter as he watched Cloud act like a nut job while destroying. It seemed that he managed to strike fear into the Ex-SOLDIER and made him paranoid.

"This has got to be the best snow day ever" he said to himself.

He jumped off the building and decided that he had enough fun with tormenting his brother for the day.

"Hopefully he doesn't hit me when I call it a truce"

/

Mikomi looked uneasily at Kakashi and he took them to their date destination.

Since it was winter in Konoha, that implied that couples should ice skate.

Kakashi chuckled at her reaction when he handed her a pair of black skates.

"What' the matter? Haven't you ever gone skating before?" he asked.

Mikomi sluggishly took the skates from him and attempted to put them on.

"Not really" she admitted.

"I did a few times with my dad, but that was a long time ago. I don't really remember how to skate"

She stood up after she tied the laces up and wobbled as she tried to stand. She stumbled a bit and almost fell to her face if Kakashi didn't catch her.

"Wow. Even the great Mikomi has a few weaknesses" he joked.

"And here I thought you were invincible"

Mikomi blushed in embarrassment at the fact that Kakashi was holding her and because of his comment.

Kakashi just laughed and helped her into the ice rink.

"It's ok if you don't know how to skate" he said.

"It's actually kind of cute"

He smiled softly to her and held out his hand.

"Just hold onto me. I'll make sure you don't fall"

Mikomi's face went red as she grabbed his hand.

Her body swayed slightly as she glided across the ice, but Kakashi placed his hand on her waist so she wouldn't fall.

To a passing eye, they looked like a cute couple as they skated.

Mikomi's cheeks were red from the cold, but that didn't stop her from smiling. Kakashi's eye curled up to show that he was smiling too.

As they were skating, they failed to notice that Gai was skating behind them.

He had anime tears in his eyes as he watched them skate.

"_Curse you, Kakashi! You've stolen Mikomi from me yet again!"_

He had a slight blush on his face when he saw the way that she was dressed.

He thought she looked so lovely in her little outfit. Heck, he thought she would look good wearing only just a garbage bag.

If only it was him that had his arms around her instead of Kakashi.

Growing determined, he decided to stop feeling bad for himself and decided to make his move on Mikomi.

"_Maybe if I performed a few of my amazing skating moves, she'll so drawn to me that she won't even think about Kakashi and jump right into my arms!"_

Grinning madly at his idea, he decided to put his plan into motion and skated right up behind her.

/

After their little truce, Naruto and Cloud sat up on one of the roofs surrounding the village while sipping hot chocolate.

Naruto snickered when he saw Cloud pretty much downed his warm drink within seconds.

"Wow, Ni-san. I didn't know you liked chocolate"

"There are many things that you don't know about me" Cloud replied.

"Some of which you are better off not knowing"

Naruto just giggled and looked over towards the skating rink that was a little ways off. As he was watching the couples skating, he spotted Kakashi staking with his sister.

His eyes bugged out when he saw just how close his sensei was holding his sister.

He nudged Cloud in the arm.

"Ni-san! Look!"

Cloud looked at where Naruto was pointing at and growled when he saw how close Kakashi was holding Mikomi.

He mentally swore at himself for leaving his sword back at the house. Looking at Naruto, he gave the boy a serious look.

"Do you have any more snowballs on you?"

Naruto held one up and handed it to Cloud.

"Thanks"

The chocobo head stood and aimed the snowball at Kakashi's head. He smirked as he saw the frozen projectile get closer and closer at its target, but paled when it hit someone else.

The blonds watched as the snowball hit Gai and caused him to crush into Mikomi, thus resulting in her falling onto the ice.

"Uh oh" Naruto muttered.

They quickly got off the roof and ran towards the skating rink to kill Gai.

Since he caused Mikomi to get hurt, he was going to pay.

/

Gai grinned as he got closer and closer to Mikomi.

He held his arms out in front of him when he got right behind her and was about to scoop her up. However, that didn't go according to plan because the next thing that he knew, a snowball hit him hard in the head and caused him to topple over…right in front of Mikomi.

Mikomi yelped when she felt someone crash into her and made her fall face first into the ice.

Gai paled in horror at what he had done.

Kakashi quickly skated over to Mikomi and helped her up.

"Mikomi, are you alright!"

She nodded as she brought a hand to her mouth when she tasted blood.

Kakashi looked at her sadly when he saw that her lip was bleeding. He quickly rounded on Gai and glared at him.

"What the hell is your problem, Gai?" he asked.

"Why were you so close to her anyway?"

Gai quickly sat up and tried to defend himself.

"I didn't mean it! I swear!" he cried.

"Something hit me in the back of the head and caused me to fall into her"

Kakashi gave him a dull look.

"Uh-huh, sure" he said.

He scooped Mikomi up and carried her bridal style.

"I guess that was enough fun for one night" he said.

"Let's take care of that cute of yours"

Mikomi blushed when Kakashi skated her off the rink and carried her back towards where their shoes were.

Gai slammed his fist into the ice while anime tears spilled down his face.

"I failed once again!" he cried.

He wallowed in his own misery and didn't even notice Cloud and Naruto coming up behind him until the last minute.

/

"Here, let me see how bad it is"

Kakashi tilted her head up slightly so he could see how bad her cut was. They were sitting by a park bench at the moment and were bathed in the light from one of the street lamps.

Mikomi was totally embarrassed about falling flat on her face in front of Kakashi. She was a ninja for crying out loud. She should be able to stand on her own two feet.

Kakashi pulled out a handkerchief that he kept in his pocket and tabbed the blood off her mouth.

Mikomi flinched slightly at the stinging.

"Sorry" Kakashi said apologetically.

When he dabbed the blood away, he was relieved to see that it wasn't so bad.

"Well, at least you won't be needing stitches" he said.

Mikomi brushed her hair behind her ear and looked at her lap. She was too embarrassed to face him.

Kakashi rubbed his neck nervously.

"I'm really sorry about that" he said.

"I should have caught you when Gai slammed into you"

Mikomi shook her head.

"I-It's ok" she said.

"It was my fault. I should have been able to skate on my own. But I thank you for helping me up"

Kakashi smiled.

"As if I would leave a pretty girl to pick herself up" he said.

Mikomi's face went red again and quickly looked back at her lap.

Kakashi gently lifted her face up with his finger so she would look at him.

"Don't be embarrassed to look at me" he said.

"I think you're really cute when you blush"

Mikomi didn't know if it was possible to die from blushing. If there was a way, she was near the point of keeling over.

How could Kakashi look so handsome just by looking at her?

She had to admit that he was the most handsome man in the village. It didn't matter to her that he covered his face with a mask or that he resembled like a scarecrow. All she cared about was how kind he was and how much he idolized her father like she did. He was the only person besides Yuri that still stayed with her after she became a Jinchuriki.

How she was so lucky to have so a wonderful man in her life was beyond her. All she knew was that she was blessed for it.

When a slight breeze blew past them, she couldn't resist the urge to shiver.

Kakashi saw this and shrugged his arms out of his coat that he was wearing.

"Here, this should keep you warm"

As he draped the coat over her shoulders, his face came dangerously close to hers.

The two of them blushed when they realized that their lips almost touched each others.

Without realizing what he was doing, he cupped her face into his hand and slowly brought his face closer to his.

Mikomi closed her eyes as her lips grew closer to his.

"Oh! He's going to kiss her!" Usagi cried.

"_How romantic!" _Aerith squealed.

Just as Mikomi's lips were about to touch Kakashi's, her eyes shot open when she felt something cold land on her nose.

"Huh?"

They both looked up to see that it started snowing again. It looked so beautiful now that it was nighttime.

The two admired the gift that Mother Nature gave them.

"It's so pretty" Mikomi said.

Kakashi nodded and wrapped an arm around her before pulling her close.

They spent the rest of the night watching the snow fall gracefully towards the ground.

In a way, this was a romantic way to end such a lovely date.

/

"Wow, Ni-san. You sure did a number on him"

Cloud and Naruto had beaten Gai up for making Mikomi fall face fist into the ice.

The taijutsu expert was out cold on the ground.

Cloud cracked his knuckles to get rid of the kinks in it.

"It's his own fault" he said.

"He should know better than creeping up close to Mikomi"

Gai groaned slightly but was shut up when Naruto kicked him.

"Let's call it a night" Cloud said.

"I'm getting cold"

"What about Bushy brow-Sensei?" Naruto asked.

"We can't just leave him here. It's the holidays after all"

Cloud sighed.

"You're right"

He picked up Gai by the ankle.

"Let's take him to the hospital"

The two of them headed for the clinic while the dragged Gai as if he was a carcass.

Needless to say, that was how their day ended.

/

**A/N: I hoped you all liked this chapter. I thought we needed to more Mikomi and Kakashi moments.**

**Please review and tell me what you think!  
Ja ne**


	59. Tale of the Dragon

Chapter 59: Tale of the Dragon

**A/N: We're finally back to the main story! Sorry for all the holiday and bonus chapters, but writers block can be a real bitch! So, to make it up to you, we get to learn about Bakuto's past and his connection to Osore.**

**Also! I finally created pictures of the oc's for the story, so they should be up on my deviantart account real soon. To look at them, just click on the link that's on my homepage and it should take you there. And if you want to do fanart for the story, I would love that as well.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

**Enjoy!**

/

Mikomi's eyes bugged out when she heard that. Did she hear him correctly? Did Bakuto just say that this Osore creep was his dad?

"Your dad?" she repeated.

Bakuto rolled his eyes in annoyance. He should have known that his rival would act this way. This is why he didn't want to tell her.

"I didn't stutter, did I?" he replied.

Mikomi blew air out of her teeth as she ran a hand through her hair.

"But…how is he your dad?" she asked.

Bakuto swear dropped.

"Please don't tell me you don't know about the birds and the bees?" he joked dryly.

A tick mark appeared on Mikomi's forehead.

"Of course I know about that stupid! I have the most perverted godparents in the whole village!" she snapped.

"I meant, how can he be your father? You look nothing like him"

Bakuto snorted darkly and looked off to the side.

"I look more like my mother and I'm grateful for that" he replied.

"If I looked anything like that bastard, I'd kill myself"

Mikomi chuckled dryly.

"I guess I probably would too if my dad was a nut job like that" she said.

She looked at him sheepishly. She had never seen Bakuto act this way. He was always so stubborn and defensive when he talked to her. But now he just looked…broken.

He almost looked like Sasuke with the way he mentioned about his dad.

"Must have bad blood between them" Usagi said.

"_No, you think?" _Mikomi asked.

"I take it you haven't seen him for a while with the way that you reacted?" she said to Bakuto.

"Then again, who would if their dad was trying to take over a defenseless village?"

Bakuto scoffed darkly and crossed his arms.

"I haven't seen that bastard seen I fled my village with my mother" he said.

"After what he did, why would I stay with him?"

Mikomi raised an eyebrow.

Fled from his village?

"But I thought you were from Kumo?" she asked.

"Why would you flee there if you have a Kumo headband?"

Bakuto shook his head.

"That's not where I'm from" he said.

"I was born in the Land of Water. My mother and I fled to Kumo after what Osore did"

Mikomi titled her head as she listened. What could have his father done that he had to flee his village?

"What did he do?" she asked.

Bakuto gave her a harsh stare that made her flinch.

"You have to tell me the whole story" she said.

"I just want to know the basics so I know what I'm dealing with"

Bakuto looked at the ground and closed his eyes.

"It was 12 years ago" he slowly began.

"The Masaki clan was one of the most prosperous clans that hailed in the Land of Water. We were like the Uchiha clan with our skills and power. We were Kiri's ace in the hole. With my father as head of the clan, we were unstoppable"

He gulped slightly as his eyes turned silver.

"But that all changed on that horrid day" he said.

"All because he wanted to gain more power"

Mikomi gulped slightly. She had a feeling where this was going, but she didn't think she had the guts to hear it.

Bakuto gripped his hand so tightly, that blood started to drip from his fingers.

"For as long as I've been alive, Osore's has always been hungry for power" he said.

Mikomi noticed that he said 'Osore' and not 'dad'.

"Everything was 'I need to improve on this' or 'I've got to be better than that person'. He thought that being the head of the clan meant that he was the top dog in the village. Nobody messed with him. He was the most powerful ninja that the land of water had ever seen, and even he knew that. Yet…despite that, he didn't like sharing the spotlight"

Mikomi didn't realize her hands were shaking up until this point. From what Bakuto was saying, his dad must have done something really bad.

"What did he do?" she repeated quietly.

Bakuto gave her a harsh stare.

"What do you think?" he asked.

"He did what any power hungry bastard would do to get rid of any competition…he slaughtered my entire clan"

The blood drained completely from Mikomi's face. Her mind simply shut downed when she heard those words. All she could think of was Itachi and Yumi right now. They killed the Uchiha clan just so they could prove their strength and left Sasuke to suffer. It was thanks to them that he set his life on getting revenge for his clan by killing them.

As she looked at Bakuto, she couldn't help but think he was the same. She always wondered why he was so cold and distant towards others. She thought that it was because he was a crab, but now that she heard his story, she couldn't help but think that he had set his entire life on getting revenge on his father.

Baktuo sighed when he saw the look on her face. He should have known she would react this way. This was the reason why he didn't want to tell her. He knew she would freak out.

"Stop looking like that" he said.

"Your face will freeze that way"

Mikomi quickly composed herself and looked at her hands.

She really didn't know what to say at this point. What could she say really?

She couldn't even imagine the ordeal he was probably going through.

To be that last living member of your clan must have been awful.

She looked at him sheepishly through her bangs.

"How did you survive?" she had to ask.

Bakuto looked away.

"My mom and I were able to get away thanks to my uncle" he muttered.

"If it wasn't for him, we would never have survived"

His mind reeled back to that traumatic event.

/

"_Megumi! Baktuo! Run!"_

_Bakuto was held tightly within his mother's arms as they ran. The screams of people from the Masaki clan rang through the night air as Osore slaughtered them._

_Megumi had tears running down her face at the thought of her husband doing such a horrid thing. He was the leader of their clan. He was supposed to protect them, not kill them._

_There was no escape for anyone in the clan compounds. They were able to run, but Osore would always catch them. Each and every one of them was cornered and slaughtered in the most vile way. _

_It was a miracle that Osore's older brother, Tanryoku was able to sense the change in his brother and get Bakuto and Megumi out of the compounds before it was too late. _

'_Why did he end up this way?' he thought._

_Bakuto was shaking as he heard the dying screams of his family. He never knew how scary his father could be until just now. _

_Was he really willing to kill his wife and son just to gain power? _

_It made him hate his father so much._

_They managed to make it to the border of the land of water without any trouble. Even though they were far away, they could still hear the screaming._

_Tanryoku looked around to see if the coast was clear._

"_I don't see anyone" he said._

_Megumi held onto Bakuto tighter as they ran for the border. Once they stepped through the border, Osore would never be able to touch them. They were sure that the Mizukage already knew what was going on and they would never let him get out of the village._

"_We're almost there" Tanryoku said._

_Just as they were about to pass it, a sword went right through Tanryoku's chest. Blood splattered out of his mouth as he fell to his knees._

"_Uncle!" Bakuto cried._

_Megumi held onto her son tightly when she saw her husband looming over her brother-in-laws body._

_Osore smirked darkly as he watched his older brother choke on his own blood._

"_Thought you could get away from me, did you Ni-san?" he asked._

_He looked over to where Megumi and Bakuto were. They were so close to the border, that if they ran now, he would never be able to catch them._

"_Why, I'm hurt, Megumi" he said._

"_Is this the thanks I get for being such a devoted husband?"_

_Megumi had angry tears in her eyes as she looked at her husband._

"_You're killing innocent people!" she cried._

"_What kind of person does that?"_

_Osore chuckled._

"_The kind who doesn't want any competition" he replied._

"_With all of those weaklings out of the way, I shall become the greatest shinobi in the Land of Water-no, the world!"_

_He held his hand out to her._

"_Since you're my wife, I'm willing to spare your life. Just join me in my dream and the world will be ours"_

_Megumi looked at his outstretched hand and quickly took a step back._

"_I'll never embrace your dream if it means you killing innocent people" she hissed._

_Osore lowered his hand._

"_What a pity" he said._

"_I guess I'll have to end your lives as well"_

_He started walking towards them, but was stopped when Tanryoku stabbed him in the leg with a kunai knife._

"_I almost forgot about you" Osore said._

_He pulled his sword out from his brother back and wiped the blood off of it._

"_It's really a shame, Ni-san" he said._

"_I would have let you join me in my rebellion, but since you were helping others trying to escape, I'm afraid that I can't let you live"_

_Tanryoku glared at him before looking at Megumi and Bakuto._

"_Run!" he managed to choke out._

"_Run and don't come back!"_

_Megumi nodded and started running again._

_The last thing that Bakuto saw before crossing the border was his father raising his sword and them slamming it into his uncle's throat._

/

Mikomi was silently crying after she heard his tale.

Who would have thought that he had been through so much at such a young age? It made her realize that there were parents out there who would love nothing more than to kill their own flesh and blood.

"_Thank god, dad was never like that" _she thought.

She couldn't even imagine if her father wanted to kill her or her mother just so he could gain power.

Bakuto sighed when he saw Mikomi crying. He should have known that she would react this way when she heard about his past. It touched him that she cared enough that she would cry, but it was unsettling for him.

"Come on, don't cry" he said.

Mikomi sniffled as she wiped her tears.

"B-but… I just feel so bad" she choked.

"I've been bragging about my dad this whole time and I didn't even think how your family life was like. It's no wonder you hate me so much!"

Bakuto rolled his eyes when Mikomi sobbed some more.

"I don't hate you" he said.

Mikomi stopped sobbing when she heard this.

"Y-you don't?" she asked.

Bakuto shook his head.

"No. You annoy me like hell, yes. But hate you, never" he said.

He placed his hands under his chin in a Sasuke-like manner.

"I never wanted to admit this to you, but you're probably the first real friend I've had since I became a Jinchuriki" he said.

"After Yugito and I meet you from our mission, we suddenly found ourselves with a new family. You and your friends accepted us, even though we were Jinchuriki. And even when our mission ended, we just didn't want to leave that warm atmosphere that we grew accustomed to. If it wasn't for you, then we probably wouldn't be as happy as we were here than we are now"

He surprised her by giving him a small lop sided smirk.

Mikomi blinked a couple of times. Was Bakuto really smirking at her?

She quickly walked up to him and checked his forehead to see if it was warm.

"You're not warm" she said.

"It must be the lack of air in here. Why else would you be smirking at me?"

Bakuto sweat dropped at that.

"This is why I don't to heartfelt moments" he said.

"You take stuff way out of proportion and make an idiot of yourself"

Mikomi glared at him.

"There's the Bakuto that I know" she said.

She sat back down and looked at him.

"So what are you going to do about your old man?" she asked.

Bakuto raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"He killed your whole clan and Uncle right in front of you" Mikomi said.

"Aren't you going to get revenge?"

Bakuto's eyes darkened at that.

"Of course I'm going to get my revenge" he said.

"After what he did to my family, there's no way that I would let him live. If I do, then he'll just hurt more people, including your village. It's been my life goal"

Mikomi gulped as she heard that. Seeing Bakuto like this reminded her of Sasuke. He set his whole life on becoming stronger so he could defeat Itachi. He threw away his happiness and childhood just so he could kill his brother. It scared and unnerved her that a child would think like that.

Bakuto saw his reaction.

"I'm not like chicken ass" he said.

"True, he and I want to get revenge on the people who killed our families, but unlike him, I've creates goals in my life that doesn't involve killing Osore. I got myself a girlfriend, I spend time with my friends and I try to enjoy my life instead of training 24/7 and act like I got a sick up my ass"

Mikomi sighed with relief.

"That's good to hear" she said.

"Casue if you were like Sasuke, then I would have to kill you. No one should through their happiness away just so they could get revenge" she said.

Bakuto nodded.

"You got that right" he said.

"Bakuto! Mikomi!"

They both jumped when they heard Yugito.

"Yugito!" Mikomi called.

"Oh, thank god you're alright!" Yugito cried.

"I brought Lady Yuri to help!"

"Alright you two, stay back while I make an opening"

The two Jinchuriki pressed themselves against the wall so they wouldn't get hurt.

"Hey, Bakuto" Mikomi said.

"What?" Bakuto asked.

Mikomi gave him a determined look.

"No matter what happens, don't ever change" she said.

"Even if you don't get your revenge on your dad today, don't let it affect you. You'll always be the better person and you'll always be stronger than him because you have people you want to protect"

Bakuto gave him a lopsided smirk.

"Who would have thought that I would be getting advice from a stupid fox from you?" he said.

"Don't worry, I'm not depressed enough that I would go all emo because I couldn't defeat Osore. I'll get him. I know I will"

Mikomi smirked at that.

"That's good to hear"

They could hear Yuri yelling before she punched a hole into the pile of rocks.

Bakuto and Mikomi coughed as dust and light filled the room.

Yugito ran through the opening and hugged them tightly.

"Thank god you're alright" she said.

They both returned the hug equally.

"As if we would killed that easily" Bakuto said.

Yuri peered into the cave and smiled when she saw they were alright.

"Hey you three! Save the mushy moment for later. We have a village to save"

Everyone broke from the hug and nodded.

"Right!"

They quickly ran out of the cave and headed back towards the village where they knew Osore was wreaking havoc.

As they ran, Mikomi gave Bakuto a thumbs up, showing him that she got his back in this.

Bakuto nodded at the response, never knowing that just by telling about his past, that his friendship with his rival grew drastically.

/

**A/N: sorry if this chapter seemed a little rushed, but I wanted to get back to the main story. So now we know a little bit more about Bakuto's past. I know it's sad, but bad things shape a hero. Hopefully, with having friends at his side like Mikomi, things will be easier for him.**

**Please review and tell me what you think!  
**

**Ja ne**


	60. What's the plan now?

Chapter 60: What's the plan now?

**A/N: I'm back! Here's the next chapter to our epic story! Now that we know who the enemy is, what will the group do about it? Will Bakuto be able to defeat his father, or will the village perish? **

**I finally put the drawings up of everyone on my Deviantart account. You can see Mikomi, Yuri, Bakuto and one of the oc's from the Big Brother series. So if you're a fan, feel free to look!**

**Just to forewarn you, this chapter may be a little bit short. It's just because I wanted to keep the fighting scene in the next chapter and because I just love to tease you all with the suspense. The Next one will be longer, I promise.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

**Enjoy!**

/

"Now explain to me what exactly is going on here?" Yuri asked as they ran through the village.

"It's a long story" Mikomi said.

"And I doubt Bakuto will want to explain it over and over again, so gather up the group so we could do this all at once"

Yuri nodded and talked into the headset that she had strapped to her ear.

"We'll meet them near the Hokage Tower" she said.

"In the mean time, keep running"

The group nodded before sprinting even faster towards their destination.

"This is so crazy" Yugito said.

"Being attacked like this just when the village is recovering from its last assault"

"Osore had the tendency to attack places that were fairly weak" Bakuto said.

"From non-ninja to struggling ninja villages, he would take over them within a heartbeat. He knew better than to attack a heavily guarded village"

"Sounds to me like he was a pansy ass that wants power, but doesn't have the strength to pull it off" Mikomi said.

Bakuto shook his head.

"Trust me, he has power" he said.

"He just won't unleash it"

/

Everyone arrived at the Hokage tower at the same time. AVALANCHE had a few scratches from trying to evacuate the villagers and avoiding getting hit by lose rubble, but other than that, they were fine.

"Will someone tell me what the hell is going on here?" Cid asked.

"Who the hell is this creep?"

Bakuto told them who Osore was and what his motive was.

"If we don't do something, then Konoha is as good as gone" he said.

Everyone grimaced after they heard the story. Nothing sucked more than having your father as your enemy. It just made life so much harder.

"So what's the plan then?" Vincent asked.

Yuri pumped her fist.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"We go out and kick some bad guy butt!"

"Do you even know where said bad guys are?" Tifa asked.

Yuri shook her head, but kept on smiling.

"Nope! But that's where are Hyuga friend comes in!" she cheered.

All eyes were turned to Myou. The Hyuga gulped nervously with all the attention she was being given.

"Alright, Myou! It's your moment to shine!" Yuri said.

Myou fiddled with her fingers in a Hinata sort of manner.

"But I don't wanna" she whined.

Mikomi sweat dropped at her lieutenant. She almost forgot how big of a chicken she could be with these types of things.

She gripped her shoulder and put on her 'Captain' face for her.

"Come on, Myou" she said.

"No one, but you can pull this off. Everyone needs your help with this in order to save the village. You don't want anything to happen to the village, do you?"

Myou quickly shook her head.

"No! Of course not!" she said.

Mikomi smirked.

"Well then, help us track those bastards to we can kick them out of our home" she said.

Myou suddenly nodded with determination.

"You got it!" she said.

She quickly activated her Byakugan and scanned the village for Osore and his gang.

"Found them!" she said.

"They're all spread out so we'll have to split. They're at the Northern gate, training ground, forest in the west, forest in the east and in the middle of the village"

Yuri nodded at that.

"We'll spread out then" she said.

"Whoever gets to them first takes them out. I don't care what methods you use, just make sure they don't move ever again"

She clenched her fist in determination.

"If you see a man, kill the man! If you see a god, kill the god! No questions ask, no mercy shown! Never mind the casualties, just move forward!"

Everyone sweat dropped at the speech, but cheered on anyway.

Bakuto looked at his friends seriously.

"And if any of you get Osore, let me know right away. He's mine" he said.

"It's my fault that he's putting the village in turmoil. I need to settle this score once and for all"

Mikomi went up to him and gave his shoulder a squeeze.

"Not alone, you won't" she said.

"Sure, you can kill your old man. But you're going to have backup. You're part of the group, so we'll help you every step of the way"

Bakuto looked at her for a second before a slight smirk appeared on his face.

"Trying to play the hero, huh?" he said.

Mikomi just gave him an Uzumaki grin and shrugged.

"What can I say" she said.

"It runs in the family"

"Alright, enough chit-chat" Cid said.

"Let's go kick some bad guy ass!"

Everyone cheered at that before they scattered.

Cloud and Tifa took on one of the forests with Yuri and Red Xlll. Vincent took on the other forest. Cid and Barret took on the training ground. Yuffie, Cat Sith and Myou took on the northern gate. And Bakuto and Yugito took the center of the village.

Mikomi simply ran wherever she felt a foreign chakra.

"For all we know, they could have moved" she muttered.

She followed the chakra towards one of the forests that Myou didn't mention and ran through the thick trees. The farther she went, the darker it got. Mikomi figured that this was the enemy's intentions. If you want to kill off your prey, do it where they have the most trouble seeing.

"These ninja are so predictable" she sighed.

She continued to run through the forest, getting closer and closer to her target. She pulled out her sword and held it in her hand tightly when she could feel the chakra in front of her.

"Now I got you"

Just as she was about to take another step, a shower of senbon needles came raining down on her.

Mikomi skidded to a halt before deflecting them with her sword. When they stopped being thrown, Mikomi took a close look at the needles. Something seemed really off about the weapons.

While regular senbon needles looked light gray because of the metal, these looked light blue.

Gingerly picking one up, she was surprised to feel how cold it was. It dawned on her that these weren't made out of metal.

"It's ice" she stated.

"Wow, you're a lot smarter than you appear"

Mikomi whipped her head up to the branches when she heard a female's voice.

"And to think that you're related to that insufferable idiot"

Mikomi paled when she saw who it was on the tree branch, giving her a cold smirk.

"Awase?"

/

**A/N: Uh-oh, it seems like Awase is here to cause trouble. Will Mikomi be able to hold up to her, or will it be too much?**

**Sorry that this chapter was short, but I wanted to keep the fighting scene for the next chapter. It'll be a lot longer than this, I promise you that.**

**Until then, please review and tell me what you think!**

**Ja ne**


	61. A heart colder than ice

Chapter 61: A heart colder than ice

**A/N: Hey everyone! Sorry it took me so long to update this story. I've been busy with my other ones and I've been looking for a job. No luck so far, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.**

**Recently, I've been getting some negative reviews for this story as well as the side stories. I won't say who sent them, but I will say that they weren't nice. I don't mind if you're sending me constructive criticism and showing me how I can improve my writing. But when people say that if they read anymore of my story, they'll puke all over their computer, then that gets to me. I know I have a couple of spelling and grammar errors here and there, but hey, that just happens. You guys don't seem to be complaining about it and think the story is just fine, so why bother making a big deal about it. I don't think it's really cool when someone is talking garbage about your story, when they haven't even bother to read through the whole thing. It's not fair to the writer, nor to the readers who actually enjoy this story and see past my flaws. So if you don't like my story, or think it's a waste of your time, then don't read it, simple as that. Why continue wasting your time reviewing for a story that you don't even like. It's just plain stupid.**

**Anyway, sorry for the rambling, but that got to me. I just want to thank all of you who actually like my story and don't think that it sucks. You are the reason why I continue writing this story and make it better.**

**Now onward with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

**Enjoy!**

/

Mikomi simply couldn't believe her eyes as she looked up at Awase. The civilian that Jiraiya gave a tour to was trying to kill her as if she was the enemy. Her cheerful, happy expression was gone and in its place was a cold, emotionless mask.

She ditched her brown outfit and replaced with that of a warriors outfit. She had on ice blue Anbu pants with a matching shirt to go with it. Over it, she wore an ice blue cloak that had a white ice flower printed on the back. She had a blue samurai sword strapped to her side, as well as a hunter's mask.

Mikomi studied her as best as she could. Her chakra signature was very different from when she saw her in the village. It was obvious now that she was concealing it to throw them all off and made them think that she was a normal civilian.

Now the ambush made sense. There was no way that Osore would be able to attack the village if he hadn't known where the village's weak spots were.

"I see now" she said.

"You were the spy"

Awase smirked coldly at her.

"Wow, you're good" she said sarcastically.

"You catch on a lot faster than that idiot godfather of yours. For a Sannin, he's not really bright"

Mikomi let a bitter smirk appear on her face.

"As much as I hate people talking bad about my family, I have to agree" she said.

"He always was a sucker when it came to women. It's just sad that he couldn't tell that his latest little fling was actually a spy"

Her face suddenly grew serious.

"But what I'm wondering is why you would want to spy on our village and start to attack it"

Awase scoffed.

"Like I would tell you my reasons for spying" she said.

"I'm not an idiot"

"Enemies don't give away their secrets. Doing so will cost you your life"

She slowly pulled out her sword and pointed it at her.

"And since you've found out about me, then that means that I'll have to end your life. I can't risk the chance of you running your mouth off to your little friends"

Mikomi smirked darkly and held her sword out as well.

"Well, I was starting to get bored looking for you guys" she admitted.

"Why don't you play with me?"

Awase smirked darkly.

"Fine then. You asked for it"

She flew off the branch she was on and held her sword high over her head. Mikomi was fast to react and blocked the blade before it could cut her head off. Sparks flew as the two of them clashed blades with each other. Both were evenly matched with the sword, but both could tell where the other's strength were. Awase was swift and fast while Mikomi was brute and strong. The kunoichis glared at each other as their blades clash with each other.

"You've got skill, I'll give you that" Mikomi said.

"But it'll take more than fast swings to finish me off"

They both jumped back and glared at each other.

"Show me what you've got, Awase. That is, if that's your real name"

Awase smirked coldly.

"Hit the nail on the head, did ya?" she stated.

"You are a lot smarter than you look"

She straightened up a little and sheathed her sword away.

"Very well, I'll tell you" she said.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder in a dramatic sort of way.

"My real name is Aisu. I'm a spy working for Osore"

She formed a handsign with her fingers and glared at her opponent.

"But since I've told you that, I'm going to have to kill you now"

Mikomi wore a dark look on her face as she formed a handsign as well.

"As if I'll let that happen" she said.

"You're not going to get away with attacking my village. Let me show you the real powers of a Konoha ninja"

Aisu gave her a taunting smirk.

"I doubt you'll show me anything glamorous"

Mikomi shrugged.

"Only one way to find out"

Both of them stared at each other for a moment. No one moved, no one made a sound. The two of them were staring each other down, as if to intimidate the other.

They did this for a couple more seconds before they flew into action.

Aisu was the first to attack and unleashed her attack.

"Ice style! A thousand shards of death!"

Needles made out ice shot out of the depths of her cloak and aimed towards Mikomi. The Jinchuriki just smirked and unleashed her justu.

"Lightning Style! Lightning whip!"

She snapped her lightning whip and zapped all of the needles that were aimed for her. The shards of ice dropped to the floor and melted from the heat of electricity. Puddles formed all around Mikomi as she zapped away the last of the needles. Aisu was surprised that her needles were deflected so easily, but she kept her guard up. Just because one of her Justus were useless didn't mean the rest of them were. She always had an ace up her sleeve.

Mikomi viewed the puddles all around her in mild interest.

"An ice user, huh?" she asked out loud.

"It's been a while since I've seen one of your kind"

The last time she fought with someone who could control ice was back when traveled with Naruto to protect a bridge builder from the village in the mist.

Aisu just glared at her.

"Oh? So you know think you can beat me just because you know my element?" she asked.

"Don't make me laugh"

Mikomi just chuckled as she slowly walked towards Aisu.

"Whoever said about making you laugh?" she asked.

"I'm not in a joking mood right now. Although, it will be funny to see the look on your face when I beat you"

"You beating me?" Aisu scoffed.

"How ridiculous"

Mikomi smirked dangerously.

"Ridiculous you say?"

She laughed a little.

"I'll tell you what's ridiculous. The way that this battle is going to end. You're going to wish that you didn't fight me"

Aisu raised a delicate eyebrow.

"Oh? And why would I even think that?"

Mikomi smirked darkly.

"Because you're in my domain now" she said.

She held up her lightning whip and snapped it a few times.

"I'm sure you've figured out one of my chakra elements already" she said.

"I'm a lightning and wind user. Quite a messed up combination since they're opposing forces, right?. But since I'm such an expert at both of them, I've been able to come up with some very interesting Justus"

She let her whip dangle at her side in a lazy matter.

"But since you're an ice user, that means you've got wind chakra too. Since it would be really stupid to use wind chakra, that means I have to use lighting. Now I have a question for you. What happens when ice melts?"

Aisu glared at her. Was she trying to make her seem stupid?

"It turns to water, you idiot"

Mikomi laughed a little, as if she realized the answer to her own joke.

"Of course, of course" she said.

"Now answer me this. What happens when you put electricity into a bit of water?"

Aisu paled slightly, realizing where Mikomi was going with this.

"It gets electrocuted" she said.

Mikomi nodded as her eyes grew a darker shade of green.

"That's right" she cooed.

She waved her hand to where all the puddles were from the melted needles.

"And what do you know? There are puddles all over the place. There's even one underneath you"

Aisu gasped and realized that she was standing inside a tiny puddle. She never realized that while Mikomi was deflecting some of her needles, that some of them shot back at her and melted on the ground. Mikomi didn't need a lot of water to use her lighting whip. Just a tiny drop and she was done for.

Mikomi held her whip up in a taunting matter as she grew closer.

"If I drop my lightning whip into that teeny tiny puddle, then you're going to go up like a Christmas tree" she said.

Aisu gulped, but stood her ground. She was not going to die by this brat.

Mikomi smirked darkly.

"You're in my dominion now, bitch" she said.

She raised her whip above her head.

"Want to see yourself light up?"

Aisu glared at her and quickly zipped past her.

"No way in hell" she said.

Mikomi's eyes turned red slightly as she sensed a challenge starting.

"Oh, this is going to be good"

She snapped her whip a couple of times at the puddles that Aisu ran through. The spy simply jumped out of the way before she could get zapped and ran towards a different direction.

"Wow, you're pretty fast"

Aisu glared at her, not liking the fact that she was being taunted.

"Quit acting like this is a game!" she snapped.

"Don't you realize that you're going to be killed?"

Mikomi just laughed at that.

"How can you kill me when I'm the one who's attacking?" she asked.

"Unless you consider running around until I run out of energy as a way of killing me, then I don't think I have anything to worry about"

Aisu grinned darkly at that.

"Oh, you do have a reason to fear" she said.

"Because as of now, you're in my domain"

Mikomi raised an eyebrow at that.

"Huh?"

Aisu performed a complicated handsign. The air around then suddenly grew cold to the point that Mikomi could see her breath.

Déjà vu hit her as she recalled seeing a justu like this.

The puddles around them suddenly shot up and made mirrors out of ice. The slabs of ice surrounded them, acting like a cage almost.

"Ninja art! Crystal Ice Mirrors!"

Mikomi gasped when she realized where she saw this Justus. This was the justu that, that boy, Haku used. He made mirrors out of ice and could zip through each of them without getting hit by the enemy. The kid almost killed Sasuke and caused Naruto's seal to start cracking.

"This is…Haku's Justus!"

Aisu's glare was as cold as ice.

"You know my cousin?" she asked.

Mikomi looked surprised that Haku had relatives. She expected him to be an orphan since people from the Mist tended to fear those who have a kekkei genkai.

"Y-yeah" she said uneasily.

"I actually met him on one of my missions. He was a good fighter, but things turned a little ugly on him"

Aisu looked shocked for a moment before murder was etched into her face.

"I see now" she said.

"So you were the one who killed him!"

Mikomi took a step back and waved her hands in front of her.

"Hold on! I didn't kill him!" she insisted.

"I mean, yeah, I was there when he died, but I wasn't the one who finished him off! Everything happened so fast that I didn't know it happened until it did!"

"It doesn't matter! You were there when he was killed, so that makes you guilty!" Aisu exclaimed.

She stepped into one of the mirrors and had her reflection cast on all of them.

Mikomi gulped when she saw Aisu pull out a set of senbon needles.

"Now I'll show you that it was a bad idea to mess with me"

/

Further off in the forest, Yuri zipped through the trees as she scanned for her target. She could sense Mikomi's charka close by and knew that she was fighting. She knew that her goddaughter could handle a fight by herself, but she couldn't help but worry for her. With Usagi's seal always on the verge of cracking some more, the chances of her getting out were always high. If Mikomi was going to fight, the least she could have was backup who knew how to revert seals.

As she was running through the trees, she felt two foreign chakras closing in on where Mikomi was. Chakra that wasn't supposed to be here.

"What are they doing here?" she asked herself.

She jumped to the ground and sprinted through the forest. If they suddenly showed up, then that meant trouble was brewing for Mikomi possibly.

"Yuri!"

Tifa, Cloud and Red Xlll landed from the tree branches they were running through and followed her as she ran.

"You guys find anything?" Yuri asked.

Cloud shook his head.

"I just got word from Vincent that he's on one of their trails" he said.

"Knowing him, he'll finish the guy in a matter of minutes"

"It's good to know" Yuri said.

"The sooner we get rid of these guys the better"

"What about you? Did you find one of them?" Tifa asked.

"I'm chasing one right now" Yuri said.

"And I'm sure you can tell by the chakra signature, that Mikomi is fighting with them right now"

Cloud shook his head.

"She's going to get herself killed" he said.

Red Xlll looked at him.

"She's act like you when you think about it" he said.

A tick mark appeared on Cloud's forehead.

"Shut up" he snapped.

Red Xlll was about to say something, but his nose suddenly caught the scent of blood. Mikomi's blood.

"Hurry!" he cried.

They quickly ran through the forest to give the backup that Mikomi needed.

/

Blood splattered on the ice mirrors as Mikomi's body slammed onto the ground. Aisu was being brutal with her attacks as she zipped through the mirrors and flung her needles at her opponent. Mikomi was lucky that she knew yellow flash, otherwise she would've been in big trouble now. She had a few needles sticking in her body and had a few cuts here and there, but nothing that was life threatening.

She blinked away the blood that dripped down the side of her face and she staggered to her knees. Aisu managed to kick her in the side and knock the wind right out of her. She held her side as she weakly glared at the ice ninja. She never expected her to be so ruthless. It seemed that she was really holding back when she saw fighting with her before.

"_She was observing your movements" _Aerith said.

"**And you pretty much showed them to her" **Usagi pointed out.

Mikomi ignored them and simply looked at Aisu. She couldn't afford having her mind wonder to other thoughts. She needed to finish this soon before things turned ugly.

Aisu just gave her a taunting look as she held up a few needles.

"What's the matter?" she cooed.

"What happen to the ruthless, confidant kunoichi that had the upper hand before? Don't tell me that was just a bluff?"

Mikomi laughed bitterly as she spit out a bit of blood.

"Oh please" she said as she slowly got up.

"I'm just getting started. It's been so long since I've fought with someone who is just as fast as me, that I just got a little rusty. But now that I'm all warmed up, I can finally take you seriously"

Aisu scoffed.

"This is coming from the girl who had needles sticking out of her body and blood dripping on the floor? I must have hit you too hard to make you think that"

Mikomi just cracked her knuckles as she glared at her.

"Maybe you're right" she said.

"You want to test that theory?"

She had a rasengan charge up in her hand. She knew that fire wouldn't melt this ice, and just punching them wouldn't leave a crack. The only way she could destroy the mirrors was if she used the rasengan.

"Time to show you my ace in the hole" she said.

Aisu watched her with mild interest.

"It's pointless to break the mirrors" she said.

"Nothing you do will shatter them"

Mikomi's eyes turned red for a second, showing Usagi was helping out as well.

"You can't be so sure about everything" she said.

She charged at one of the mirrors using yellow flash and slammed her rasengan into the mirror. The ice cracked upon impact and almost shattered the whole thing.

Mikomi smirked at took a step back.

"See? I told you"

Just then, the cracks slowly disappeared as the ice reformed itself. Mikomi watched in horror when she saw the mirror looked just as it did before she shattered it.

"What?"

"I told you, didn't I?" Aisu said.

"Nothing you do will break the mirrors. Unlike Haku's my mirrors absorb impact and repair themselves with the chakra you use on your justu. In other words, after you cracked the mirror, the chakra you put into the sphere of yours repaired it"

Mikomi growled, realizing how bad the situation just turned. If she couldn't break the mirror through sheer force or Justus, then that meant she was in big trouble.

Aisu just laughed and held up a few senbon.

"Frustrating, isn't it?" she taunted.

"Here you are, hacking away at the mirrors so you can get free, only to see that you're preventing yourself from letting that happen. This is why it was stupid of you to fight me. You're going to die because of being over confident and stupid"

She zipped through the mirrors again and got Mikomi every time. The ninja would stagger back and forth from being hit in all directions and didn't have time to block them. Blood dripped from her mouth when she got the wind knocked out of her from a hard punch to the stomach. Aisu smiled darkly and finished the move off by kicking her in the face.

Mikomi skidded to the ground and hid her head with one of the mirrors. Her head throbbed with pain as she staggered to get up. She couldn't let this bitch win. Her friends were counting on her to save the village. Naruto would be coming home soon. She couldn't let her brother return to the village when bad guys were trying to destroy it.

She forced herself up on her feet and charged at Aisu. The spy sighed in annoyance.

"Give it up, will you?"

She flung a few needles as her, and was rewarded to see them lodge into Mikomi's neck. The jinchuriki feel to her knees, then face first into the dirt.

Aisu slowly sauntered over to her slowly.

"Don't worry, I didn't hit anything vital" she said.

"Just merely struck a nerve so you wouldn't move. It's such a pain having you move around, so keeping you still makes it easier to kill you"

Mikomi struggled to move her body, but failed. Her limbs felt like lead as they were paralyzed. Her vision started to go blurry as the struck nerves overtook her body. She was in big trouble now. If she didn't try to get help soon, then she was done for.

She looked through the opening of the ice cage and made out two figures coming through the forest. Did her friends come to her rescue when they sensed the fight?

Before she could clearly see who it was that was coming, she blacked out.

"_Please save me" _she thought.

Aisu looked at Mikomi's body and slowly pulled out her sword.

"This really isn't a beautiful way to die, but since you've put me behind schedule, I think you deserve it"

She raised the sword high and let the sun gleam off the metal.

"This is for giving me so much trouble!"

She slammed the sword down, aiming for her opponent. Just was the blade was about to pierce flesh, a black blur zipped through the cage and kicked her out of the way. The sword twirled into the air before landing into one of the strangers hands.

Black flames suddenly erupted from the ground and engulfed the ice mirrors.

Aisu watched in horror as her mirrors melted from the black flames. That was impossible! There was no way that her mirrors would be melted so easily.

She turned to the intruders and glared at them.

"How dare yo-"

Her sword went flying towards her and landed at her feet.

Aisu gulped when she realized how close it was to piercing her and faced the intruders.

When she saw who they were, she paled drastically. She never expected to see them in her entire life. Just seeing their faces made her actually afraid, and that was something.

Knowing that she had no chance of beating them, she quickly grabbed her sword and left. She didn't have time to fight them and she wasn't in the mood to die.

The two 'intruders' watched as she left. One of them moved to follow her, but the other stops them.

"Let her go" they said.

"She needs to be tended to"

They both turned to Mikomi to see her out cold on the ground.

The figure that was planning to chase Aisu bent down and carefully picked her up. The other examined her to see if she had any fatal injuries and was glad to find none.

"What have you gotten yourself into, Mikomi?"

The one carrying her stood up and motioned for the other to follow.

"Let's go. I sense help up ahead"

The person sighed and stood up.

"This is going to be very awkward"

"Tell me about it" the other replied.

They quickly sprinted off to get Mikomi to safety.

It seemed that luck was on her side at the moment.

/

"She's just up ahead!" Red Xlll said.

"Her scent's getting closer"

The four of them ran as fast as they could through the forest to get to Mikomi. Even though their village was in danger, they were more concerned about their friend. They could always rebuild the village, but they could never get Mikomi back.

Yuri ran as fast as he legs would let her. When she got her hands on the person her goddaughter was fighting, she was going to knock seven shades of shit into their skull.

Nobody hurt her godchildren while she was around.

Cloud and Tifa were pretty much thinking the same thing, only their minds were thinking of more gruesome thoughts. Out of the whole group, they were the most protective of her and Naruto.

Red Xlll sniffed the air again and skidded to a stop when he smelt a newer scent accompanying Mikomi's

Yuri was about to ask what was wrong, but when she saw two figures jump into the clearing, she skidded to a stop as well and had Cloud and Tifa smack into her.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked.

"Why did you suddenly st-" Tifa said.

All of their eyes went huge when they who Mikomi was being carried by.

Standing before them was none other than Itachi Uchiha and Yumi Seiji. Itachi held a firm grip on Mikomi while Yumi looked at them coldly.

Everyone's skin paled when they realized that Mikomi was in the hands of the ones who wanted to kill her.

This was not good.

Not good, at all.

/

**A/N: uh-oh! Itachi and Yumi are back! That can't be good, but the main question is why are they back and why did they rescue Mikomi?**

**I know how much you guys just 'love' cliffhangers, but if you review, I'll update sooner!**

**Hoped you liked this! **

**Ja ne!**


	62. An Unlikely Ally

Chapter 62: An Unlikely Ally

**A/N: Now it's the moment you've all been waiting for. What are Itachi and Yumi doing here and what do they plan to do with Mikomi now that they have her in their grasp?**

**Will Cloud and the others save her, or is there more to this meeting than meets the eye?**

**Warning! I'll be revealing a lot about the Uchiha killing spree in this chapter, so for those of you who haven't read about what Itachi did and why he did it, please don't read this chapter. **

**And please don't hate me for what's going to happen in this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his and Yumi Seiji owns hers.**

**Enjoy!**

/

This was an absolute nightmare. Mikomi was in the grasp of the criminals who wanted her dead. The fact that it had to be Itachi and Yumi made things even worse.

Yuri gave the two of them such a harsh stare that it made the air freeze. Nobody touched her godchildren while she was around.

Cloud and Tifa were just as angry as she was. How dare they carry Mikomi as if she were cargo? They weren't going to let them get away with this and they were most certainly weren't going to let them get out of the village with Mikomi.

Cloud pulled his Buster Sword out and gripped it tightly within his hands. This was personal for him since he couldn't see another comrade get killed because he couldn't save them. He failed to protect Zack and Aerith; he wasn't going to fail Mikomi.

Tifa put her leather gloves on and got into a fighting stance.

Nanaki growled and dug his paw into the ground in an animalistic way.

Yumi raised an eyebrow in a bored manner.

"Well, it looks like you remember us" she stated.

"Now we don't have to do introductions"

Tifa glared at her.

"Like we care!" she spat.

"Give us Mikomi!"

"And why on earth would we do that?" Itachi asked.

"Don't you know how hard it is to track down a Jinchuriki and obtain it?"

"Like we care" Cloud repeated.

"Hand her over. You're not leaving the village with her alive"

Itachi activated his Shanringan.

"Is that a threat?" he challenged.

Cloud's eyes grew hard.

"It's a promise" he growled.

Everyone faced each other off. They knew that there was no way they would get out of this unless they had Mikomi with them. They were all willing to die for her if need be. She was just as precious to Cloud and Tifa as she was valuable to Itachi and Yumi.

Cloud went to charge at them first, but he was stopped by Yuri.

The medic held an arm out to keep him at bay while she stared at Itachi and Yumi. The three of them had a stare off for a bit. None of them said a word as they registered their faces.

Finally, Yuri broke the silence with a simply question.

"Is fish face with you?"

Yumi's facial features relaxed a bit at the question.

"He's at our base. Why?"

Yuri smirked slightly.

"That's all I needed"

Cloud and Tifa gave her a confused look. What was she up to? And why was she smiling like that?

The medic performed rapid handsigns and created a barrier around them.

"What in the world are you doing?" Tifa asked.

Yuri ignored her and looked at Itachi and Yumi in an annoyed manner.

"You know, you two have a lot of nerve to suddenly show up like this after so long" she said.

"No 'hi, how's it going?' no letter, no nothing. You hurt my feelings"

Itachi sweat dropped.

"You haven't changed" he replied flatly.

"Still have the mind of a child, I see" Yumi added.

Yuri laughed at that.

"Hey, life wouldn't be fun if I had to act like an adult" she said.

"How you've taken care of Mikomi for this long scares me" Itachi said.

Cloud, Tifa and Nanaki stood there dumb founded as they saw Yuri talking to Itachi and Yumi as if they were long lost friends.

What the hell was wrong with this picture?

One minute, they looked like they were about to take Mikomi away and then the next, they were talking to Yuri as if they were catching up from old times.

What was going on?

"You know, I should kill you two for letting that fish face friend of yours turn Mikomi into sushi with that sword of his. It took me forever to get her skin to grow back"

"We took care into punishing him" Itachi said.

"He knows better than to harm our 'prey'"

"Although, I did take pleasure into punishing him" Yumi replied.

"He knows better than to disobey my orders"

Yuri giggled at that.

"Oh man, you haven't changed at all"

The three AVALANCHE members had enough of being out of the loop and just exploded.

"What the hell is going on here?" Tifa cried.

"Why are you acting so friendly with them? They're the enemies! They want to kill Mikomi! You shouldn't be laughing with them and catching up with them! You should kill them!"

Cloud gave Yuri a harsh stare.

"Start explaining"

Yuri rolled her eyes and sighed.

"If I'd known you three would freak out so badly, I would have knocked you out" she said.

"You don't have to worry about them. They're harmless"

"Harmless?" Cloud spat.

"If I recall correctly, last time that we saw them, they were trying to capture Mikomi and let their little shark friend skin her alive. How are they harmless?"

"Maybe if you keep your mouth shut, Lady Yuri can explain" Itachi stated.

Cloud growled at him and when to charge at him, but Yuri stopped him.

"Easy, Spiky" she said.

"I'll tell you what's going on. Just relax"

Cloud glared at her.

"How can I relax when they have Mikomi?" he snapped.

"For all we know, they could break through this barrier and run off with her"

Itachi rolled his eyes.

"I can tell that your Mikomi's friend just by your attitude" he said.

"You want proof? Then here"

He deactivated his Sharingan and handed Mikomi over to Tifa.

The martial artist held onto her tightly and checked her over to see if she was ok.

"Now will you listen to us, or do we have to tie you up?" Yumi asked.

Cloud didn't say anything, but gave them a weary look.

"Fine. Start talking" he said.

"Mr. No-nonsense, huh? Yumi stated.

"Fine then. As Lady Yuri was saying, you don't have to worry about us fighting. You can trust us"

Yuri jabbed a thumb at the two Akatsuki members.

"You remember Jiraiya saying he got intel about the Akastuki from someone? Well it's them" she said.

Cloud and Tifa blinked at that.

"Huh?"

Yuri giggled.

"They're spies" she stated.

Cloud and Tifa blinked.

"Spies?"

Yuri nodded.

"Well, they're not really spies, but they gather intel. I didn't think that they were the ones who were giving Jiraiya information about the Akatsuki, but it seems that they were"

She gave the two rouge ninjas a cheesy smile.

"You two are really sneaky"

Itachi rolled his eyes at her.

Tifa held Mikomi closer to her. She didn't care that they were the ones who told Jiraiya about the Akatsuki. That didn't change the fact that they were killers.

"So what?" she said.

"That still doesn't change the fact that they slaughtered a whole clan and left Sasuke alive. How can you trust a couple of murderers? Mikomi doesn't trust them, so why should we?"

Yumi sighed and gave Yuri a dull look.

"You never told her, did you?"

Yuri rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"Sarutobi gave me strict orders not to tell anyone" she said.

"He said the fewer who knew, the better. Plus he figured that she wouldn't believe it no matter what"

Itachi sighed as he closed his eyes.

"She takes after Kushina" he said.

Cloud tapped his foot in annoyance.

"Can we stop with this beat around the bush crap?" he asked.

"Just what the hell is going on? How are they spies and why are you talking in code about them killing the whole Uchiha clan? You better give me some straight answers before I cut them in half"

"I'd like to see you try" Itachi muttered.

Cloud heard this and went to lunge at him, but Yuri held him back.

"Easy, easy. I'll tell you, just calm down"

Cloud calmed down, but he kept glaring at Itachi. He wasn't going to take his chances with this creep.

"I want you to tell me everything, and I mean everything" he said.

Itachi nodded.

"We shall, but first I must ask you a question" he said.

"Just how much do you know about the Uchiha clan?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"Not much" he said.

"Only that they had the Sharingan and that you killed them all except Sasuke"

Itachi closed his eyes and sighed.

"I thought as much" he muttered.

"You were kept in the dark as well"

"It isn't like Sarutobi could just talk about it" Yumi said.

"No one is suppose to know"

"Know about what?" Tifa scoffed.

"That you're murderers and that you're trying to kill Mikomi? We don't need you to spell it out for us. You're actions are good enough"

Yumi gave the martial artist a cold stare.

"You don't know anything about what we had to do that night" she hissed.

"As if you could understand why we slaughtered a who entire clan. The Uchiha clan no doubt"

"I don't need to understand" Cloud snapped.

"All I care about is keeping you away from Mikomi and Naruto. Nothing you say will sway my decision"

Itachi looked at him harshly.

"You're not even a ninja and yet you act like a Konoha dog" he said.

"How admirable"

Cloud went to attack him again, but Yuri held him back.

"Alright. Enough" she said.

"Just tell them what's going on instead of antagonizing them. They may not be ninjas but they're just as powerful"

Itachi nodded.

"Very well" he said.

"We don't have the time to be fooling around anyway, so I just get to the point"

He gave Mikomi's friends a serious look.

"We didn't kill the Uchiha clan because we wanted to. We had to do it because we were told to"

Cloud scoffed at that.

"Told to?" he repeated.

"You mean to tell us that you killed off a whole clan; your family, because you were told to? And who would tell you that?"

"The village" Yumi said.

The arrogant look fell from Cloud's face.

Did he just hear them correctly? Did they say that the village told them to kill off a very powerful clan?

"The village?" Cat Sith repeated.

"As in, the Hokage?" Tifa added.

Itachi nodded.

"One in the same" he said.

Tifa's and flew to her mouth. She just couldn't believe what she had heard. No one could. They could never picture Sarutobi ordering someone to do something so cruel. It just wasn't right. He was a kind, wise old man who wanted to bring peace to the village. Why would he want a whole clan to be slaughtered?

"We know what you're thinking, but don't let it get to your head" Yumi said.

"True, Sarutobi-sama ordered us to kill the Uchiha clan, but there was no other choice. It was the only way to protect the village?"

Tifa looked at them.

"Protect?"

Itachi nodded.

"The Uchiha clan is known to be the strongest clan in the village…maybe in the entire ninja world" he said.

"Maybe if I told you the history of my clan, you'll start to see that they weren't victims that you claimed to be"

Cloud kept his guard up, but nodded. He learned that you had to hear both sides of a story before you made your final judgment on them. He learned all of that thanks to Sephiroth.

"We're listening" he said.

Itachi smirked slightly; glad that he could finally have a civilized conversation with them.

"It all started 80 years ago" he said.

"Back then, the world was embroiled in endless battles. An era of warring states. Nations were fighting over their right to exist or to expand their borders. It was a never ending battle to see who was weak and who was strong. So many nations and clans would clash with each other, but only two of them were the strongest. One of them was the Senju clan and the other was of course the Uchiha clan. We of the Uchiha clan possessed extraordinary chakra and the Sharingan. We excelled in all types of warfare and were known as the battle clan. As the Uchiha clan grew stronger, our name became known to neighboring villages. We wanted to be the strongest clan and the only way to accomplish that dream was to defeat the Senju clan. Our founding father, Madara Uchiha did everything in his power to make sure that dream would come true"

He closed his eyes for a moment.

"However, the Senju clan had other plans in mind"

He opened his eyes and looked at them again.

It was painful to tell his clan's history, but it needed to be done. He felt that he could trust these strangers.

"One day, the Senju clan proposed to cease fire and the Uchiha clan obliged" he said.

"Both sides were tired to the endless conflict and they had reached their limit. Madara was against the whole treaty. He wanted to be at the top of the ninja world and he wasn't going to let a treaty get in his way. However, since most of the Uchiha clan wanted peace, he had no choice but to agree. The village hidden in the Leaves wanted peace and they were intending to make that happen. However…that peace was short lived. While the Senju and Uchiha clan agreed to stop the fighting, there was still the battle over who should be the Hokage. I'm sure you can tell that the leader of the Senju clan became the first Hokage. His face on the monument speaks for itself. The land of fire was pleased with that and they thought they could have never picked a better Hokage. The Uchiha clan wasn't happy about the place of power that was put to the village. They thought that they should be the ones in charge. Some were rebellious and tried to lash out, others just didn't care anymore and wanted to live a peaceful life"

His face grew grim.

"But even if they claimed they wanted peace, I know for a fact that my clan wanted to be the ones in power" he said.

"They were born as blood thirsty ninjas and they would die that way. It didn't matter if they tried to live a normal, peaceful life. Battle still ran through their veins"

The group silently soaked this information in as they listened.

They started to understand a little bit more about the Uchiha clan, but it didn't change their minds that Itachi and Yumi were anything but murderers. Ninja clans were always blood thirsty. Even Yuffie's clan in Wutai is known to be battle hungry from time to time.

"Ok, we get it that your clan didn't get along with the Hokage" Tifa said.

"But that doesn't explain why you had to kill them off"

Yumi sighed and looked at her lover.

"Just skip to the part where we come in" she said.

"It's pointless to explain them the rest"

Itachi nodded.

"Very well" he said.

"Skipping to where we come in. The Uchiha clan couldn't be trusted by the Hokage and elders. Fearing our powers, they decided to keep an eye on us and moved us to a section of the village where we would be watched. It may have seemed like a clan compound to some, but to the older generation, it was considered a prison. The village feared our powers, so they tried to keep us on a shorter leash. The Elders were happy with this idea, but Sarutobi alone was against it. He wanted to give the Uchiha clan a chance to be accepted, but the Elders said we couldn't be trusted. Their distrust gave us bad blood and lead to some rebelling. They started to cause suspicion to the Elders with the way they acted. And it was a good thing that they were suspicious because the Uchiha clan did the only thing that they were known for"

Tifa gulped slightly.

"What did they do?"

Itachi brushed the hair that blew into his face.

"They planned a coup d'état to take over the village"

Tifa gasped in horror while Cloud looked at them stunned.

Yumi laughed darkly.

"Shocking, isn't it?" she asked.

"And here you were feeling sorry for them, never knowing that they were planning to overthrow the village. Now do you find the Uchiha clan as a bunch of innocent victims?"

When none of them said anything, they got their answer.

Yuri sighed wearily. It always made her feel bad whenever she had to hear the tale of the Uchiha clan.

"Now do you see what was going on?" she asked.

"Sarutobi caught on to what the Uchiha clan was planning on doing. So he sent in a spy. And I'm sure you can figure out who that spy is"

Cloud and Tifa looked at Itachi in shock.

"No way" Cloud said.

"You mean you're…"

Itachi nodded.

"That's right" he said.

"I became a spy for the village and went against my clan"

He laughed bitterly and looked away from them.

"My father planned to overthrow the village and continue what my ancestors dreamed of" he said.

"However, he never knew that I was giving the Hokage information on what my clan was doing. Just imagine the look on their faces if they knew that I was acting as double agent and worked behind their backs"

Yumi gave him a sad look.

"You did what you had to do" she said.

Yuri patted him on the shoulder.

"You saved a lot of lives" she said.

Cloud looked at Yuri.

"Did you know about this?" he asked.

"Did you know what they were going to do?"

Yuri nodded grimly.

"I wasn't supposed to, but I always have my ways" she said.

"I used to be a Yankee for crying out loud. You need to know things if you're going to survive. Just because I may look and act stupid doesn't mean that I really am"

Itachi nodded.

"Lady Yuri is probably the second most smartest person in the village" he said.

"Next to Sarutobi"

Yuri crossed her arms.

"I knew what Itachi had to do and I understood why he had to do it" she said.

"He was born in a time where war was everywhere and all he wanted was peace. So when he learned that his family wanted to destroy that peace, he did whatever it took to preserve it. Even if it meant killing his family"

Yumi looked at the leaders of AVALANCHE.

"The night that the Uchiha clan was killed. Itachi was just fulfilling his mission that was assigned to him. he killed off his entire clan so he could preserve peace"

She looked away.

"Well…almost everyone. He killed everyone off except for one person"

Cloud and Tifa knew who that was.

Sasuke.

Itachi shook his head.

"I could never kill my younger brother" he said.

"I could kill my parents, I could kill my friends, but I could never kill Sasuke. He was very precious to me and I just wanted him to be free from the cruel fate that was put on to the Uchiha clan. I didn't want to kill my clan, but it had to be done. All so the peace of the village wouldn't be shattered"

Cloud and Tifa looked at him stunned.

They never expected this at all. They always thought that Itachi killed his clan to prove how powerful he was, but it was just the opposite. It was so his clan wouldn't be powerful and so that many lives would be spared.

He wasn't a killer. He was a hero.

Yuri looked at them and sighed.

"Now do you think that they're killers?" she asked.

"They did what they had to do in order to save the village. That's why they became criminals and why they joined the Akatsuki"

Tifa swallowed the lump that formed in her throat.

True, she didn't see them as murderers anymore, but there was still the fact that they were after Mikomi and Naruto.

"If they're not criminals, then why do they want to kill Mikomi?" she asked.

"Just because you told us the truth about them, doesn't mean we should trust them. I won't trust anyone who wants to kill my best friend"

Yuri busted out laughing while Itachi and Yumi smirked slightly.

"You guys really are dense" Yuri said.

"Did you not just hear that they said? They're not killers and they're not the enemy. They're _spies"_

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"So what? You're saying that they're spying on the Akatsuki as well?"

"Bingo" Yuri said.

Yumi looked at Mikomi gently.

"Mikomi is a very, very dear friend of ours" she said.

"She was always there for us when we needed her"

Itachi nodded.

"We had to act like we betrayed her in order to protect her" he said.

"It was painful for us to do, but it had to be done. We joined the Akatsuki so we could learn what they were up to and so we could protect her. She may be a Jinchuriki, but she's still a person"

Tifa held Mikomi close to her.

So they really weren't the bad guys after all.

Itachi bowed to them.

"We apologize for the way we acted the other day, but we had to put up appearances" he said.

"Mikomi doesn't know the truth about what we did and she never should"

"We also wanted to test you as well" Yumi added.

Tifa blinked.

"Test us?"

Yumi nodded.

"Like we said before, Mikomi is very precious to us. She's been shunned most of her life because she's a Jinchuriki, so we're very protective of her. We weren't going to let a couple of strangers act like they cared about her"

Cloud glared at her.

"We aren't her friends, we're her family" he growled.

"She's just as precious to us as she is to you"

Yumi smirked.

"We knew that when you nearly turned Kisame into sushi" she said.

Cloud smirked slightly as he remembered pulling his special move on fish face.

Yuri smirked slightly before looking at Itachi and Yumi.

"So why did you come here, besides saving Mikomi?"

Itachi had a blank look on his face.

"We went to keep an eye on Naruto since we're looking after him too" he said.

"And for the record, your cousin sucks as a guardian"

Yuri sweat dropped when they mentioned Jiraiya.

"What happened?"

Yumi sighed in annoyance.

"We wanted to test him to see if he was capable of protecting Naruto, so we set up some bait to see if he would fall for it" she said.

"And being the perv that he is, he fell for it. If we weren't actually trying to protect Naruto, your godson would be as good as dead"

A tick mark appeared on Yuri's forehead when she heard that.

"Jiraiya" she growled.

Cloud sweat dropped at that.

"God damn pervert" he muttered.

Itachi shook his head slightly.

"Just be glad that he catches on quickly and was able to stop us before anything happened" he said.

Yuri cracked her knuckles in anger.

"I'm going to kill him when he gets back" she said.

"Please do" Yumi said.

Cloud sighed and gave Itachi and Yumi a weary look.

"So is it safe to say that we can trust you?" he asked.

Itachi nodded.

"It's up to you to trust us or not" he said.

"Just know that we want to protect Mikomi and we won't let anyone stand in our way"

"We'll give you information about what's going on with the Akatuski if that helps" Yumi said.

Yuri raised an eyebrow.

"You mean you're helping us?"

Yumi gave her a look that said 'duh'.

Itachi looked at Yumi.

"We need to go. Kisame will be wondering where we are"

Yumi nodded.

"We'll contact you if we find anything useful" she said to Yuri.

Yuri nodded.

"Stay out of trouble" she said.

Yumi smirked slightly and looked at Cloud and Tifa. She gave them a serious look.

"I can tell that you care about Mikomi and you'll do anything to protect her. Even from us" she said.

"But if you do anything that'll hurt her in anyway, I won't hesitate to kill you"

Cloud gave her a stern look.

"You won't have to worry about us" he said.

"Because if you do anything that will hurt her, _we'll _be the ones who will kill you"

Itachi smirked slightly.

"It's good to know"

He gave Mikomi a gentle look.

"Take care of her. She's very dear to us"

Tifa nodded.

"You can count on us"

Itachi nodded.

"Good. Then until then, keep her safe"

Yuri deactivated the shield and let the two Akatsuki members leave.

When Yuri was sure that they were gone, she looked at her friends.

"What you've just heard cannot be repeated to anyone" she said.

"No one must know"

"Not even the group?" Red Xlll asked.

"No one" Yuri repeated.

"The fewer people who the better"

"But what about Sasuke?" Cat Sith asked.

"If he finds out the truth, he won't need to kill Itachi"

Yuri shook her head sadly.

"He would never listen, even if we told him" she said.

"His mind is so clouded with vengeance that it's become his whole life. He won't let what other people say sway him away"

Tifa sighed sadly.

"But Itachi was just trying to protect him" she insisted.

"It doesn't matter" Yuri said.

"He knew what would happen when he took that mission and he accepted that fate. The only thing we can do for him is accept it as well"

Cloud put his buster sword away and crossed his arms.

"Can we really trust them?" he asked.

"They are the bad guys"

Yuri nodded.

"Don't always believe what you see" she said.

"You can trust them, so don't worry"

The blond sighed and ran a hand through his spiky hair.

"This day just keeps getting crazier and crazier" he said.

Yuri laughed a little.

"Welcome to our world" she said.

Everyone laughed a little at that.

Mikomi stirred a little, showing that she would be waking up very soon.

"Let's get out of here" Yuri said.

"We still have a battle to fight and standing around here isn't going to win it"

Tifa held Mikomi tightly and went off with Yuri and the others.

Cloud followed at well, but stopped for a moment to look back where Itachi and Yumi once were.

He never expected that mass killers of the Uchiha clan to be their allies. It seemed that there was more to this world than what he thought.

Sighing, he quickly followed after the others.

Even if they were interacting with the bad guys now, at least they had someone on the inside who would help them take the Akatsuki down.

/

**A/N: I hope this chapter was alright and that I didn't spoil anything for anyone. I know this was a MAJOR plot twist, but I thought you guys might like it.**

**Please tell me what you think and review.**

**Thanks again for staying with me even though it's been a while!**

**Ja ne!**


	63. Clash of Monsters

Chapter 63: Clash of Monsters

**A/N: I'm back! Sorry about the long delay. School is being a bitch again this year. Now we get to the good stuff and get back to all of the fighting! And what better way to do that than to start off with our favorite vampire, Vincent Valentine? Hopefully, his fight will be interesting.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his.**

**Enjoy!**

/

"I think she's coming around!"

"She looks really crappy though"

"Maybe if you weren't pulling those needles out of her as if she were a corpse, then she wouldn't look like this"

"Lassies going to be hurtin' when she comes around"

"Poor Mikomi"

Voices echoed through Mikomi's head as she came around. She was in so much pain that she felt like she could black out again from it. The only think keeping her awake was the stinging in her neck as someone pulled the needles out.

That's when it hit her. Her fight with Aisu!

Her eyes shot open as she thought of that. She had to warn everyone that Aisu was a spy.

She quickly sat up, not paying attention that her friends were around her and trying to heal her.

Yuri restrained her when she tried to get.

"Whoa! Easy there!" she said.

Mikomi calmed down a little when she saw Yuri, Cloud, Tifa, Red Xlll and Cat Sith were with her.

Tifa smiled weakly when she saw her calm down.

"Hey, sleepy head" she said.

"You had us worried"

Mikomi touched her neck to feel that all of the needles were gone.

"My neck" she murmured.

Yuri held up one of the bloody needles to show who took them out.

"You looked like a porcupine when we found you" she said.

"You're lucky nothing vital was hit otherwise you would have been a goner before we came here"

Mikomi grew confused.

"You guys found me?" she asked.

Cat Sith jumped into her lap.

"That's right!" he chimed.

"We thought you were dead for a moment before Yuri fixed ya up. You really scared us"

Mikomi looked at her friends.

"You didn't rescue me then?" she asked.

They shook their heads.

Mikomi looked at her lap. If they didn't save her, then who did?

The group gave each other knowing looks. They promised that they wouldn't revealed about Itachi and Yumi's true intentions about killing the Uchiha clan or why they were with the Akatsuki. They would have to play dumb with this one.

Yuri gave Mikomi's shoulder a squeeze.

"Hey, don't think too much on it" she said.

"At least you're alive"

Mikomi bit her lip. She was alive, but her pride was wounded. She nearly let herself die from the enemy. That was shameful in the ninja world. The only way she could repent from such a careless mistake was to warn the others.

"Yuri, we have a slight problem with the enemy" she said.

Yuri snorted.

"Yeah, it's Bakuto's father" she said as if it were obvious.

Mikomi shook her head.

"No, not that. Something worse" she said.

"You remember that Awase chick that Jiraiya was showing around the village?"

Yuri had a dull look on her face at the mention of her cousin.

"Yeah, she was looking for her friend and Jiraiya was wanted to give her a tour in hopes of getting to bed with her" she said.

Cloud held the bridge of his nose when Yuri plainly spoke the obvious. Sometimes he thought she acted like a man with the way she ran her mouth off.

Mikomi nodded.

"Yeah, well I just found out that Awase is working for the enemy" she said.

"Her real name is really Aisu and she's a spy working for Bakuto's dad. I was fighting with her just now before I blacked out. She's a lot deadlier than she looks"

Everyone paled at that. They let a spy get inside their village? It's no wonder they were under attack so easily.

And what made it worse, Jiraiya was stupid enough to show her the whole village.

Yuri ground her teeth in frustration at her cousin's stupidity.

"JIRAIYA!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.

/

(Meanwhile with Jiraiya and Naruto)

The toad sage suddenly sneezed as they walked around Tanzaku Town.

Naruto looked up from his training to see his mentor sniffling.

"What's up with you, pervy sage?" he asked.

"You catching a cold or something?"

Jiraiya shook his head as he wiped his nose.

"Nah, probably someone is talking about me" he said.

"I bet it's a really pretty girl who said it"

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, or it could be someone who's planning to kill you"

Jiraiya just laughed nervously.

"Don't be silly" he said.

"Who would ever want to kill me?"

His cousin suddenly flashed in his mind.

'_That can't be good' _he thought.

/

(back with the group)

Yuri held the bridge of her nose in annoyance.

"Honestly" she said.

"I can't believe that my cousin would be stupid enough to let a spy inside the village. He practically gave her the whole blueprints to the town"

Mikomi shrugged.

"That's what you get when you think with your dick" she said.

Cloud whacked her upside the head at that remark.

"Don't talk like that" he said.

"You're a lady so don't use those kind of remarks"

Mikomi glared at him as she rubbed her head.

It freaked her out how he suddenly started to act like a parent to her. She was starting to miss the old Cloud.

Tifa just fussed over her to try to keep her calm.

"Well, at least we now know how they were able to get into the village" she said.

"All we need to do is warn the others"

Just then, the speaker to Cloud's headset started beeping. Cloud pushed the button to see who was contacting him.

"**Cloud, it's Vincent" **

Cloud grew surprised by hearing the vampire's voice. He hadn't heard from anyone else in their group, so the fact that Vincent was the first one to call him meant something was wrong.

Vincent never called.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"**I've caught one of the intruders that is working for Bakuto's dad" **Vincent replied.

That was fast. But then again, Vincent used to be a Turk, so tracking people was his specialty.

"Where are you? Do you need backup?" Cloud asked.

"**I don't think so, but I might need help" **Vincent said.

"**This guy doesn't look like a regular ninja"**

"Ok, I'm with Yuri so we'll get there as fast as possible" Cloud said.

"**Don't worry, I should have this battle done in no time. Just meet me up near the northern border of the village"**

With that, the connection was cut off.

Cloud sighed nervously.

He hoped Vincent will be alright.

/

Vincent cut off the communication and looked up at his enemy. It didn't take him long to track him down, it was rather easy as a matter of fact.

It seemed this guy was intending to be caught so he could fight. Probably one of those ninjas who lived for the battle.

And judging by this guy's appearance, he hit the nail on the head.

"Goodness me! You sure are a persistent sucker aren't you?"

The ninja jumped from the tree and landed in front of him.

"But I like that. Just shows how much you live for fighting"

Vincent studied his opponent carefully.

He had short, slick back silver hair with two red dots in the middle of his forehead. Amber eyes that could scare death itself. White pants that were covered by a white cloak with a black skull etched into it.

A ninja who took pleasure in death.

The ninja propped his sword on his shoulder and faced the vampire. He tilted his head to the side in thought.

"You're a rather strange looking ninja" he said.

"I didn't know Konoha had fighters like you"

Vincent didn't say anything. He wasn't going to give this creep the satisfaction of responding to him. The best way to provoke your enemies is to remain silent.

The ninja sighed in frustration.

"Not the talking type, huh?" he asked.

"Fine, I'll be the gentleman here and introduce myself. I'm Kasui Kaguya and you my friend are about to die"

Vincent simply pulled out Cerberus and undid the safety. This guy was bark but no bite. An enemy who talked highly about themselves were nothing but weak.

This would be easy.

Kasui laughed when he saw Vincent pull out his gun.

"Oh! Now this is more like it" he said.

"I was never good with conversations"

He pulled his sword out of its sheath and aimed the blade at him.

"Show me what you got, ninja"

He swung his blade and tiny projectiles come at him. Vincent was horrified when he saw that the projectiles were fingertip bones. The bones hit him, only to have Vincent burst into flames.

Kasui laughed again.

"A Genjustu master? This day just keeps getting better and better"

Vincent emerged from a tree trunk that was behind Kasui and aimed his gun at his back. Kasui reacted quickly and deflected the bullets when they were fired.

"Close, but no cigar my friend" he said.

"You'll have to be a lot more cleverer if you're ever going to defeat me"

Vincent just gave Kasui a cold look. He really didn't like this guy. He talked too much.

Kasui swung his sword again.

"Digital Shrapnel!"

Vincent jumped out of the way when they bones flew at him. Even if ninjas didn't use guns in this world, they could always improvise.

"My, you're a fast little sucker, aren't you?" Kasui said.

Vincent appeared behind him and aimed Cerberus at his head.

"And you talk too much" he replied.

Kasui smiled menacingly.

"Oh, so you do talk" he said.

"I was starting to wonder if you were a mute"

Vincent clicked the safety off his gun and drilled his eyes into the enemy.

"I don't talk to chatter boxes" he said.

"Gives them more reason to talk"

He fired off six round of his gun. Kasui managed to get out of the way before his head was blown off, but his arm was hit.

The ninja's calm, aloof manner disappeared when he saw blood dripping from his arm.

"Y-you hit my arm" he said.

Murder was written on his face as he looked at the vampire.

"You made me bleed"

"That was my intention" Vincent said.

"Did you expect me to get hit instead?"

Kasui ground his teeth in anger and reached behind his back.

"Nobody hurts me and lives to tell the tale!" he cried.

A sickening sound could be heard as he ripped out his spine and held it out.

Vincent was horrified to see him still standing despite having his spine in his hand.

"I forgot to mention to you that I'm unlike normal ninjas" Kasui said.

"You see, I'm from the Kaguya clan. And we have a special Kekkei Genkai that allows us to use our bones as weapons. We're a lot like cats where we have more bones than the average human body does. So I can use my spine here as a weapon and I won't be affected by it"

Mikomi had warned them about ninjas with special blood limits. Some were very helpful while others were very dangerous. The fact that this man was able to rip his spine out and still stand showed that he fell within the dangerous crowd.

He had to finish this battle fast in he wanted to get away. He wouldn't die due to the experiments that were done to him, but that didn't mean he would get away injured free.

There was one way that he could finish this battle really fast, but he wished it wouldn't have come to this.

He would have to use Chaos.

He hated using the demon that made him different from everyone else. It just proved that he really was a monster. But if he didn't summon Chaos, not only would he be in danger but so would the citizens of Konoha.

Putting his needs aside, he summoned the demon within him and let him come forth. His whole body changed as Chaos came forward and took control. He still had control over his mind, but his body now belong to Chaos.

Kasui raised an eyebrow.

"I knew you weren't any ordinary ninja" he said.

"You don't look like a Jinchurikii, but us ninjas will just about seal anything away"

He raised up his spine and held it like a whip.

"Let's just see how powerful you are when you can't even touch me!"

He flung his spine at him and smashed it into the tree branch that he was on. He frowned when he saw that Vincent disappeared and landed next to him.

"You're faster than before, I'll give you that" he said.

He performed Digital Shrapnel on him again.

"But that doesn't change the fact that I can still hit you!"

Vincent flew all over the place, dodging everything that was thrown at him. Just as he suspected, this ninja was all talk and no bite. Just because he had a Kekkei Genkai didn't mean he was powerful. He just a little boy who took advantage of a toy he was given.

Kasui became frustrated every time that he missed Vincent. He couldn't let him get away or else Osore would have his head. He had to win. That's what he lived for. That's what he was created for.

Monsters lived to fight.

Surely this demon felt the same way?

Vincent propped himself on a branch and looked at Kasui while he had a fit. This man truly was childish. Just because he couldn't hit his enemy didn't mean he had to have a fit?

"Dammit!" he cried.

"Why can't I hit you? What's the deal? I thought you were like me"

Vincent scoffed.

"If I acted like a childish brat like you, I'd kill myself" he said.

"This isn't play time. This is a battle to the death, so start treating it like one"

Kasui growled demonically.

"Fine, have it your way then" he said.

He pulled out more bones from his body and formed them as weapons.

"I was holding back a lot because I didn't want this fight to be over real quick. But since you've pissed me off, I'll show you my true colors" he said.

"Now you'll see why Osore choose me to be in his group!"

He launched numerous attacks at Vincent, using only his bones. Some acted like projectiles while others functions like standard ninja weapons. He used his ribcages like boomerangs and had them circle around Vincent wherever he went. His spine still acted like a whip, only now it was spiked with the bones of his fingers. Trees would be torn apart whenever the whip hit them.

"You can run, but you can't hide from me!" Kasui cried.

"Sooner or later, you're going to run out of hiding spots! And I doubt that little weapon on yours will help you for long"

He was right. Vincent was running low on ammo and loaded his last rounds. He had to be very careful this time around if he wanted to finish Kasui. Every bullet counted.

Kasui destroyed the trees as he searched for Vincent. He hated it when his enemy hid from him. He wanted him out in the open so he could kill him on sight.

"Quit hiding from me!" he cried.

Vincent rolled his eyes. This guy was more annoying than Yuffie.

"Come out!" Kasui cried.

"I want to see the look in your eyes as I slowly kill you!"

Vincent had enough of this. This guy was giving him a headache and he was running out of time.

Jumping from his hiding spot, he faced Kasui. The ninja laughed like a nut job when he saw his prey.

"There you are" he said.

"I was starting to think that you ran off"

"Why would I run off when I know you'll just find me?" Vincent asked.

Kasui shrugged.

"True. That would be pointless" he said.

"Why would a monster run away from a monster? It just doesn't make sense"

Vincent's eyes harden at that word. People always saw him as a monster or some kind of a demon since he had Chaos sealed inside of him. They would always run in fear whenever they caught a glimpse of the beast. It was reasons like this that he stayed away from others, even his friends.

Kasui laughed a little.

"It's sad, isn't it?" he cooed.

"People treat us like we're vermin and yet they were the ones who did this to us. They're afraid of what they created almost. The only that we can survive in this world is to become what we were made for. Monsters like us need to kill before being killed"

Vincent bared his fangs at Kasui. Now he really hated his guy. He didn't know the first thing about what it was like to be a monster. He had a demon sealed inside him while this brat simply had a silly bloodline limit. He claimed to know what it was like to be a monster, but he didn't know the first thing about it.

Deciding that playtime was over, he charged at the ninja and performed a melee of attacks on Kasui. He would hit him with his claw or with the barrel of Cerberus. He grabbed him by the shirt and flew up in the air, only to fly back down and slam him into the ground. He was being ruthless with his attacks, but this is what Kasui wanted.

He wanted to fight with a monster and that's what he got.

Using his gauntlet claw, he punched Kasui in the chest and had him flying through the trees, leaving imprints in his wake.

The vampire slowly walked over to where Kasui laid and watched as he coughed up blood. The ninja drew in raspy breaths thanks to a broken lung. He looked up at Vincent to see him draw Cerberus. This monster defeated him as if it was child's play. He always thought that he was the scariest member of his clan, thanks to his bloodline limit, but this man proved him wrong.

Why was he so strong? Why did he want to protect this village when people should fear him?

"W-why?" he rasped.

"W-why fight for this village w-when they fear you?"

Vincent looked at him emotionlessly.

Why did he fight to protect others when they feared him?

It was simple.

/

_(Flashback)_

_Mikomi sighed as she saw outside the bar with Vincent. She felt a million times better now that she told them about her having Usagi sealed inside her and that they supported her. _

_She looked up at Vincent who was simply standing in the shadows. Out of all of them, he gave Mikomi his undying support. He knew what she was going through, so he knew her pain. _

"_What's on your mind, Vincent?" she asked._

_Vincent merely shrugged. _

"_Nothing that's important" he said._

_Mikomi laughed._

"_And here I thought you were having second thoughts about being friends with someone like me" she said._

"_Since…you know…now that you all know what I am"_

_Vincent regarded her for a moment before moving to stand next to her._

"_There's nothing to think about it" he said._

"_You're our friend, simple as that. Nothing will change now that we know more about you"_

_Mikomi smiled wistfully as she looked up at the sky._

"_It's been a very long time since I heard that word about me" she said._

_Vincent looked at her in confusion._

"_Friends" Mikomi clarified._

"_After having Usagi sealed up inside of me, that word has become foreign to me"_

_Vincent nodded in understanding._

"_Positive words have that effect on monsters like us" he said dully._

_Mikomi flinched._

"_Please don't say that word" she said._

_She looked up at him sadly._

"_Monster is considered a bad word in my home. My brother and I hear it all the time from the villagers, we don't want to hear it from people who matter to us"_

_Vincent looked at her for a moment before looking at the sky._

"_I apologize" he said._

"_I'm just used to saying that about myself"_

"_But why would you call yourself that?" Mikomi asked._

"_It's because that's what I am" Vincent simply stated._

_Mikomi shook her head._

"_That's not true" she said._

_She stood up and faced him._

"_You don't fit in the same categories as monsters do" she said._

"_Since when do monsters fight to protect others? Since when do monsters hide from their friends so they won't hurt them? Since when do monsters think about others rather than themselves? You fit in those descriptions so that means you're not a monster. You're the exact opposite"_

_Vincent looked at her, stunned by her words. The others tried to prove to him that he wasn't a monster in the past, but he just ignored them. But when he heard it from Mikomi, it was as if she was talking about past experiences. _

_Either way, just because she said she wasn't a monster didn't mean that the public thought so._

"_It doesn't matter" he said._

"_Even if you think that I'm not a monster, doesn't mean that society will think so"_

_Mikomi nodded in understanding._

"_True" she said._

"_But that shouldn't stop you from trying"_

_She smiled brightly._

"_Yeah, it's their fault that they turned us into this" she said._

"_They fear what they don't understand and are terrified of their own creations, but just because they're afraid of us doesn't mean you should be afraid of them. If you believe that you're not a monster, then you have to prove it to them as well. Prove them wrong and make them second guess themselves. They won't change their minds until you do something about it"_

_Vincent let her words register into his mind. He knew for a face that she was talking from experience. Having a demon sealed up inside you for 13 years meant you had a convincing to do._

_If she could do it, then perhaps he could as well._

_He looked up at the sky in thought._

"_I'm not much of a people person" he said._

_Mikomi laughed._

"_That's ok. I'll always be here to help"_

_She held out her hand to him._

"_Guys like us need to stick together" she said._

_Vincent looked at her hand before slowly accepting it._

"_I suppose you're right"_

/

And he did try to prove himself.

Even though he really didn't do it a lot since he wasn't from Konoha, he helped Mikomi and Naruto try to have everyone else see past their flaws. It was hard at time since they would just give them the cold shoulder, but they never gave up. Even when they failed and even when they cried at times, they still pushed forward to prove to people that they were good, honest children who wanted to protect their country.

It was that kind of spirit that gave Vincent the reason to fight on.

He looked Kasui chocking on his own blood. It was people like him that man everyone afraid of demons like Mikomi and himself. People who gave them a reason to be afraid.

Unlocking the safety, he aimed the barrel at his chest.

"You asked why I fight to protect others?" he asked.

"It's so I can prevent people like you from trying to kill them"

Kasui smirked despite choking on his blood.

"A useless resolve for a monster" he choked.

"No matter what you do for them, they'll always fear people like you"

"True" Vincent said.

"But at least I can get rid of you and lessen their fears by one person"

With that, he fired six rounds into his heart and watched the light leave the ninjas eyes.

It tore him up to kill someone, but it was his job. If he didn't kill him, then others would have died.

It was reasons like this that he felt like a monster. But then again, he would have been a real monster by letting Kasui go and hurting others.

He looked up at the sky to see a few birds flying.

"It's up to me to prove them wrong" he muttered.

He thought about Naruto and Mikomi for a moment.

"And it's up to you to change their ways"

He quickly reverted to his normal self and ran off to catch up with the others.

With one bad guy down there was only three more to go.

/

**A/N: I know this chapter sucked with the fighting and all, but when you think about it, nobody can beat Vincent. He's just too awesome. **

**Please tell me what you think and review!**

**Ja ne!**


	64. Battle of the Genius

Chapter 64: Battle of the Genius

**A/N: Hey everyone! I'm back! Sorry for the very, very long wait. Now that school's out I'll have more time to update my stories!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his.**

**Enjoy!**

/

Off on the other side of the village, Cid was in a heated battle with one of Osore's henchmen. The old pilot pushed his body to the max as he avoided one of the attacks the enemy sent at him.

Landing on a tree branch he gripped his spear tightly within his hand and glared at the ninja before him.

If there was a category for extremely weird ninja, this guy would be the leader of them.

He had short light brown hair with a matching goatee and dark brown eyes. He wore a forest green jumpsuit with a green cloak covering it that had a dark brown tree symbol on the back of it.

Oh yeah, he was weird.

Cid cursed his luck. Why was he always stuck with the weird ones?

The ninja just laughed in a gleeful yet dangerous matter.

"You're quite the spiteful one despite your looks" he said.

"I never would have thought that someone your age would have so much energy within them"

Cid glare at the ninja. Was this little shit calling him old?

The ninja bowed gracefully to him.

"My name is Ki Uddo" he said.

"And I shall be the one to defeat you"

Cid just snorted and rubbed his nose in a bored manner.

"You dumbass" he said.

"Don't you know that you're not supposed to tell the enemy your name?"

Ki just laughed and tilted his head.

"Oh, I don't think you'll have to worry about that" he said.

"After all, I'm going to kill you"

He pulled out his sword and slammed it into the ground.

"Earth style! Wooden coffin!"

Trees sprung up from the ground from where Cid was standing. The pilot jumped out of the way and landed on another tree, only for it to have trees come out of it as well. The old pilot jumped out of the way from all of the trees that sprung from the ground before he landed on the ground.

Ki laughed at the sight of seeing Cid out of breath.

"Amazing! You were able to dodge all of my attacks despite how old you look"

Cid growled at that.

He always hated it when people mentioned his age. It was bad enough that Yuffie called him old on a daily basis.

It was time to show this little punk who was old.

"I may be old but I'm a lot smarter than you, you little shit" he said.

He held up his spear and aimed it at him.

"Let me show you"

He jumped up into the air and performed his limit break, High Dive. The force of the impact caused some of the trees in the area to tip over while others were blown away completely.

Ki looked at the scenery with mild amusement.

"Really? Is that the best you can do?" he taunted.

He slammed his sword into the ground again and had trees spring forward.

"Forest of death!"

Trees sprung out all different directions. The area became so cluttered with trees that it was more cluttered than it was before.

Ki laughed at the scenery. His forest of death justu trapped people within the thick deep forest. They would be stuck in the trees, hoping to get out of it, but would never find a way out. It a maze made out nature that had no opening.

"Ha ha! Enjoy your eternal stay within my forest of death!" he cried.

He continued to laugh at his handy work.

"Oh, Lord Osore will be pleased when he learns I killed one of his son's friends. That'll stir the boy up to the point he'll explode!"

He yelped when the felt the tip of a blade being pressed against his neck. Turning around slowly, he saw Cid standing behind him with a very annoyed expression.

"You wanna repeat that tree boy?" he said.

Ki yelped and backed away.

"H-how is that even possible?" he cried.

"How did you get out of my forest of death?"

Cid stuck a cigarette in his mouth and lit it.

"That's simple" he said.

"I think with a three dimensional mind"

Ki blinked in confusion.

"Come again?"

Cid blew out a trail of smoke and looked at Ki with annoyance.

"Fine, I'll explain it to you since you have a pea brain" he said.

"I'm a pilot so I think with a three dimensional mind. That means I see everything at everything different angle. If you're going to fly in the skies you need to know everything about your surroundings. You on the other hand think with a two dimensional mind. You only see what's in front of you, not what's around you"

Ki gulped slightly when he started to understand what he was saying.

Cid leaned against his spear in a bored manner.

"I may be old, but I know a hell of a lot more than you do" he said.

"You think a puny little forest is going to keep me back, then think again. There's other ways to get out of a forest than just walking forward"

Ki growled at that.

"Puny?" he repeated.

"You think my justu is puny?"

He raised his sword high in the air.

"I'll show you puny!"

He slammed his sword into the ground and had the whole area sprout with trees. Cid jumped out of the way and used High Jump to be over the trees. That was the trick to getting out of a trap like that. If you didn't want to be in it, you went over it.

Ki growled in frustration and kept using his wood jutsus. He had wooden beams shoot out of the trees to attack Cid, but the pilot simply stabbed them with his spear and used them as leverage to jump higher.

Ki stomped his foot in frustration.

"I won't let you get away!"

He swung his sword around and made wooden beams appear from everywhere. They all aimed for Cid and wrapped around the pilot's foot, sending him crashing to the ground.

Ki laughed as Cid was thrown into his forest of death.

"Not so puny anymore now am I?" he taunted.

He waited to hear the dying groans of Cid as he was speared by the sharp branches of the forest. He wanted to hear his agonizing cries for mercy.

He wanted to hear all of these things but all he got was nothing. He did not hear a single sound.

"Is he dead already?"

He jumped into the forest and looked around for Cid's body. If he was dead he wanted to bring the body back for Osore to use against Bakuto.

Looking around, he spotted a pool of blood on one of the braches. He looked around to see if the body was close by.

"I wonder where that old man could be?"

He jumped back when a spear came out of nowhere and tried to stab him. Looking up, Ki saw that Cid was perched up on one of the tree branches. He had a few cuts and scrapes which explained the pool of blood, but other than that, he was ok.

Ki sputtered as he looked at Cid. How could he still be alive?

Cid gave him a cocky grin while his cigarette dangled between his teeth.

"That was pretty impressive, but you're still thinking with a two dimensional mind" he said.

Ki stepped back when Cid jumped down to land on the same branch.

The pilot took the cigarette out of his mouth and blew out smoke.

"And you call yourself a ninja. I bet you don't even realize you're walking right into a trap"

Ki went to take another step back when he felt something brush up against his ankle. Looking down he saw that it was a piece of wire.

Fear started to grip him when he put all of the pieces together.

Cid smirked.

"Just a little something I picked up from watching Mikomi" he said.

He flicked his cigarette as a paper bomb he had hidden behind him and ignited the trap. The paper bomb set of a chain of explosions as one paper bomb would be blown up while the wire connecting them acted as a fuse.

Ki yelled trying to get out of the forest but he was trapped in a cage of flames.

Cid used his spear to propel him out of the forest and watched it go up in flames.

"And they say smoking's bad for you" he muttered.

He landed on the ground and watched as the mini forest burned.

It pained him greatly knowing that he just killed someone in a brutal way, but it was either him or Ki. And being the stubborn pilot that he was, he wasn't going to die that easily.

Turning his back to the burning forest, he ran back towards the village where his friends were.

He may be old, but he knew a lot more than they did. And they would need a genius if they were going to win this battle.

/

**A/N: I'll admit, this is probably not one of my best chapters for this story, but I wanted to post something for you guys so you wouldn't have to wait. **

**Even though this chapter probably sucked, please review and tell me what you think!**

**Ja ne!**


	65. The wrath of the Iron Lotus

Chapter 65: The wrath of the Iron Lotus

**A/N: I'm back…again. I swear, I don't know why I'm getting writer's block for this story lately. I'm sorry for the long wait but hopefully this chapter will make it up. We get to see Yuri snap and become the not so crazy, loveable godmother we're all used to seeing. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Final Fantasy 7; I just own my oc's while Bakuto Masaki owns his. **

**Enjoy!  
**/

"Put me down, guys! I can walk!"

Yuri held onto Mikomi as she ran through the forest. Since everyone was busy fighting off the enemies, she was getting antsy and wanted to fight herself.

Mikomi still couldn't move her body properly since it was still paralyzed from the needles Aisu used on her. She was pretty much dead weight at the moment.

"Let me go, Yuri. I'm fine" she insisted.

Yuri shook her head as she zipped through the tree lines. She could almost see the village and the chaos that was brewing within it.

"Not happening" Yuri said.

"You're still paralyzed from those needles so I need to carry you. Besides, I can't just leave you behind now can I?"

Mikomi sighed and looked at Cloud and Tifa.

"A little help would be nice" she said.

Tifa shook her head.

"Yuri's right. You're still injured"

Mikomi snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Oh please, these are considered scrapes after all of the injuries I've had in the past. You haven't seen the worse of them"

"Talk as much as you want, I'm not putting you down" Yuri said.

Senbon needles flew from the trees and landed in front of Yuri, stopping her in her tracks.

"Except for now"

She tossed Mikomi over to Cloud and pulled out a kunai knife at the invisible enemy.

"Show yourself!" she ordered.

Cold laughter echoed in the forest as the air around them started to grow colder.

"So you're still alive from my attacks? I guess I shouldn't be surprised since you were saved by your friends"

Aisu jumped from the trees and landed on the ground before them. The Kunoichi's face was cold as a dark smirk covered her face.

Yuri's eyes narrowed at the girl who harmed her goddaughter.

"Nice to see you again Awase..or should I say Aisu?"

Aisu laughed.

"So you know who I really am then? Aren't you the clever one" she said.

The corner of Yuri's lip twitched as she tried to fight off a smirk.

"What can I say? I'm a lot smarter than my cousin is. But then again, I'm sure Jiraiya knew who you really were but couldn't decide if he was right or not"

Aisu pulled out her sword and aimed it at her.

"As much as I love catching up, I have to dispose of you all" she said.

"Lord Osore needs to control this village and he doesn't want any interference getting in the way"

Yuri cracked her knuckles as a wicked smirk appeared on her face. It seemed that it was time that she threw away the crazy, innocent Yuri for the much darker one.

The darker side that almost ruined her.

Looking over her shoulder, she gave Cloud and Tifa a cold stare.

"You guys get out of here. This fight is mine" she said.

Mikomi shivered at the sudden change of her godmother. It had been a long time since she saw her act this way and frankly, it still scared her today.

"Don't go overboard, Yuri" she warned.

Yuri just laughed as she looked back at Aisu.

"Where's the fun in that?" she asked.

Mikomi just shrunk back in Cloud's grip and saw her godmother revert to someone that she thought was long gone.

The Iron Lotus.

They quickly left the two of them to help the others keep the village safe.

"Are you sure it was wise of you to send your friends away?" Aisu asked.

"It's foolish to fight without backup"

Yuri laughed as she shook her head. She started removing her trench coat.

"Oh no. I didn't send them away so they wouldn't get hurt" she said.

She dropped the coat on the ground as her eyes turned to ice.

"I don't want them to see what I'm going to do to you"

Aisu flinched at the coldness of her words but kept her composure.

"We'll see about that" she said.

She swung her sword and had shards of ice coming out.

"Ice style! A thousand shards of death!"

Yuri smirked grabbed one of the shards that was aimed for her face. Aisu watched as Yuri held the sharp chunk of ice and shattered it within her hands. She was amazed that she didn't cut herself at all and appeared to be fine.

"An ice user, huh? That's pretty interesting" Yuri said.

She performed a handsign with a nasty look on her face.

"Too bad it won't work on me" she said.

"After all…"

Water came up from the ground as the moisture from the earth was sucked up and surrounded Yuri. The sannin made another handsign and turned the water into a sheet of ice.

"I'm an ice user also"

Aisu took a step back when she saw Yuri lift up the large sheet of ice with her bare hands.

"You want to see what you just got yourself into?" she asked.

"Well here you go!"

She hurled the ice at her at an alarming speed, making Aisu wonder if she was even human. The spy quickly jumped into the trees before the ice could hit her. Yuri followed after her and slammed her fist into the branch that she was standing on, causing it to break. Aisu jumped towards another branch as Yuri followed her.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

A crazy look appeared in her eyes as she chased after the ninja.

"I'm going to wipe the floor with you" she growled.

Every time she got closer to her, she would slam her fist into the tree and cause it to break from the force. Aisu started to get a little scared by the raw strength and willpower this woman had. Her chakra levels were rising with each step she took.

This was no ordinary ninja, this was a monster.

Yuri had an insane look on her face as she got closer to Aisu. How long it had been since she became her old self. The old her that didn't have a care in the world about anyone or anything and would just beat everything within her path.

When she reached Aisu, she grabbed her by the back of the neck and slammed her into the tree trunk they were on. The spy tried to claw at Yuri's hand, but the Sannin had a vice grip on her throat. Now that her prey was within her grasp, she wasn't going to get away.

She hurt something that she held dear, now she was going to suffer the consequences.

Aisu actually felt a slight twinge of fear as she looked into the medic's eyes. They were the silly, cheerful ones that she saw when she was spying on the village. These were the eyes of a murderer.

Yuri curled her free hand into a fist and gave Aisu a murderous grin.

"Here's a little something you probably don't know about me" she said.

"Even though I'm known around the world as one of the Sannin and Jiraiya's cousin; I hold another title: the Iron Lotus"

Aisu gulped, despite the fact that Yuri was crushing her windpipes.

Yuri laughed darkly as she recalled her old days as a Yankee.

"Oh yes, I was something to be feared" she said.

"I would start fights, set things on fire, and do things that would make your ears bleed from hearing. I did whatever I want, whenever I wanted. If there was someone I didn't like, I'd kill them. If someone gave me a nasty look, I'd cave their face in. I didn't have a care in a world and I was fine with that. As long as someone didn't take what was mine, then people wouldn't have any problems with me"

She raised Aisu up so she was eye level with her and pulled her fist back.

"And since you tried to take away something that was mine, you're going to have a problem with me"

/

"Yuri looked really different back there" Tifa said.

"I've never seen her like that before. It was like she wasn't herself at all"

Mikomi bit her lip as they ran through the forest. It had been years since she has seen Yuri act this way.

"That was the old Yuri" she said.

"Back before she became my godmother and when she was still in a gang. She was such a cold person you wonder if there was even an ounce of compassion within her"

Tifa looked at her in disbelief.

"No way. Yuri's too nice to have a mean bone in her body" she said.

"There's no way she could be heartless"

Mikomi smiled weakly.

"If only you knew" she said.

"You should have seen her when I first met her. She could give Sephiroth a run for his money"

/

Aisu crumpled to the ground as Yuri punched her in the face. She had been ruthless with her attacks by punching and kicking her everywhere to the point she was a bloody mess. She spit out a mouthful of blood as she looked at the sannin was a mixture of fear and hatred.

How was it possible that this was the same woman who acted like an idiot and being cheerful? Why did she have this much strength? And more importantly, who was she? Was she the cheerful, crazy Yuri of the Sannin? Or was she a ruthless monster who sought out blood?

Yuri cracked her knuckles that were covered with blood and cackled darkly.

"Aww, does it hurt?" she asked.

"Looks like you're really all bark and no bite. You can't even handle a simple beat down from me. How pathetic"

Aisu curled her hands into the ground as she growled.

"Pathetic?" she repeated.

Her eyes blazed with anger as she shoot up.

"I'll show you pathetic! Ninja art! Crystal Ice Mirrors!"

Ice mirrors surrounded the Sannin as Aisu trapped her within her domain. She went into one of the mirrors and held up a handful of senbon needles.

"Now whose the pathetic one?" she spat.

"This is payback for turning me into a punching bag!"

Yuri had an insane smile spread across her face when she saw a real challenge for her.

"Now we're talking!" she cried.

"Give me your best shot! I'll be one step ahead of you!"

Aisu glared at her and shot through the mirrors, throwing needles as she went. She didn't see if any of them hit Yuri or not as she went. All she cared was that she inflicted as much pain on her as she could. If she was this strong, she would be trouble for Osore.

When she threw the last of her needles at Yuri. She looked at the damage she created. She was horrified to see that the Sannin was covered by a sphere of ice and that the needles imbedded themselves into the ice instead of her.

The ice cracked and sent shards everywhere, hitting the mirrors and shattering them. When the ice cleared, Yuri stood next to Shiva, whom she summoned before the attack.

Yuri held up the materia and dismissed Shiva from her duties.

"Well what do you know? These things do come in handy" she said to herself.

Aisu backed away in fear and tripped over her own feet as she tried to get away.

Yuri dusted her outfit off in a bored fashion while she let Aisu tremble with fear.

"I'm guessing that was your best move, so I don't have to worry about you pulling any tricks out of your sleeves" she said.

"I've gotten bored with this fight, so I think I'll end it"

She slowly approached her and watched as Aisu tried to get away.

"S-stay away from me" she said.

"If Lord Osore finds out what you've done to me, you'll be sorry"

Yuri had to laugh at that. She had seen this so many times before that she lost count.

Blind devotion was so sad sometimes.

"Oh really? Then where is he?" she asked.

"If he sensed you were in trouble, he would have been here by now. If you're so important to him, then why hasn't he come here to stop me?"

Aisu gulped and looked away, knowing she had a point. Where was he when he knew his followers were in danger? Could it be that he really didn't care and saw them all as simple sacrificial lambs for his goals?

Yuri bent over and picked her up by the front of her shirt.

"It's really sad to see it end like this, but I'm afraid you leave me no choice" she said.

"You threatened my village, so now I need to eliminate you"

She raised her fist high into the air and coated it with chakra.

"This is the end!"

She swung her first forward to land the finishing blow.

Aisu closed her eyes in fear, knowing there was nothing to save her now. When she closed her eyes, Yuri saw Mikomi's image for a second and froze. Her fist was but a few inches away from Aisu's face.

Her hand shook when she realized that she almost became her old self and nearly killed this young girl. A girl no older than Mikomi. Dropping Aisu to the ground, she took a step back and covered her mouth.

"I almost lost it again" she said to herself.

Aisu quickly stood up and looked at Yuri. She suddenly seemed different than she was moments ago. It was like she was the silly, crazy Yuri that she knew before instead of the cold hearted one.

Why the sudden change?

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I thought you were going to kill me?"

Yuri closed her eyes as memories of her past flashed before her eyes. She had given that life up in order to keep Naurto and Mikomi safe. If she went back to her old self, she would be breaking her promise to Minato.

She took a deep breath and looked at the spy who brought this upon her village.

"Do you want me to kill you?" she asked.

Aisu was taken aback by such a silly question but glared at her.

"Of course not. I need to fulfill Lord Osore's wish! He needs me"

Yuri laughed weakly.

"He needs your skills. He doesn't value your life, otherwise he would have saved you by now"

Aisu looked away, knowing the medic was right. She was right. She was just a tool to him like everyone else.

"Why devote yourself to someone who doesn't even care about you?" Yuri asked.

"Why throw away your life for someone who won't do the same?"

Aisu felt tears pool up in her eyes.

"Because he saved me!" she said.

"My village feared my Kekkei Genkai and wanted to be rid of it. But Lord Osore thought differently and wanted it. He gave a reason for living when no one else would! And if giving up my life for him makes him happy, then so be it! It's not like anyone else would care if I died"

"That's not true" Yuri said.

"I would care"

Aisu looked at her surprised. Just moments ago, she was trying to kill her and now she was saying she cared if she died or not?

"You're young" Yuri said.

"And the fact that I see a young girl risking her life over someone who doesn't give a damn about anyone but himself upsets me. You still have so much to live for. You should live for yourself instead of living it for someone else"

Aisu looked at the ground. All her life, it had been spent serving Osore and making sure his dreams would come true. How could she live her own life when she didn't even know how to?

"I don't even know the first thing about living" she said.

"It's always been about spying for Lord Osore and making sure his goals were met. To live a normal life sound foreign to me"

Yuri smiled and held her hand out to the young girl.

"You can always start here" she said.

"Konoha is the best place to have a relaxing life. Instead of trying to destroy it, why don't you protect it? That will give you something to live for"

Aisu looked at her hand for a moment. Should she really join her? Could she turn her back on Osore who had given her a purpose in life just so she could have her own life in return?

"_But then again, why would he care?" _she thought.

"_He probably doesn't even care that I almost died"_

Slowly, she accepted her hand and threw away her ties with Osore for good.

Yuri smiled when she realized that she was able to at least save one of Osore's followers instead of killing her.

This was why she threw away her old life in exchange for this one. Because saving lives were much better than destroying them.

And now that she thought about it, it seemed that Aisu threw away her old life much like she did so she could start anew.

"Welcome to your new Aisu" Yuri said.

"Start to enjoy it"

Aisu looked at the sky and watched as the birds flew by.

She never realized that living her own life could be so wonderful.

She was going to enjoy it as long as she could.

/

**A/N: Did you guys honestly think that I would have Yuri kill a young girl? Although she probably would have if she didn't return to her senses. **

**Now you guys have seen a side of Yuri that she likes to keep locked up from everyone. We'll see more about her past in the 'Big Brother' side story so we can get to the good stuff in this story! **

**Now that Osore's henchmen have been defeated, it's all up to Bakuto to stop his dad from destroying Konoha. Will he be able to do it?**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Ja ne!**


End file.
